Godliness regarding Alcohol & Your Work Relationships
Notes
Transcript
Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
After two faithful sayings - one on the gospel and the other on the desirabilty and noblity of having real leadership in Crhist’s church, Paul’s third faithful saying - was on what? Remmber recovering a church that was dying - and as he transititioned from the centrality of gospel proclarmaition and worship and leadership to the specific problems of the church, in this third faithful saing, just like with his letter to Titus, all this truth this gospel is unto godliness! Truth unto godliness.
Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
And for a church to become a strong community of faith, strong in inward care, strong in outward mission, strong in upward devotion to the LORD, it requires this godliness to be expressed in our relationships. And so in chapter 5 and the first two verses of chapter 6, Paul unpacks what gospel relationships look like in the church young old, male female, based onthe model of family love and encouragement, correction, care of widows and by extension vulnerable, as well as empoowering a ministry of visitatation, and prayer of the older widows. Then in the thrid area of honouring leadership of elders and preaching elders in our lives and the typoe of faithful leadership these must exercise. This direction in regard to leadership stops, and Paul makes a personal comment to Timothy again: Keep your self PURE. A standard for elders for sure and for Timothy, but for all of us. Paul at the beginning of that third faithful statement about godliness had said:
Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
Godliness is rooted in Christ’s work, him not only dying for us, but living a perfect life - and that righteousness is fulfilled for us, imputed to us. But at the same time as we are brought into a lvoing reltiaionship with God and filled with his Spirit. A new personal righteosuness is to grow in our every day lives. Step by step sanctifcation as we abide in Jesus. ANd Paul says, this kind of purity that results from the gospel - we need to set an example and follow the example of this in every area of life. Purity means complete conformity to God’s law in both action but also thought. It is the word Paul uses for how women are to be treated. NOt just sexual purity, but an intention tht is wholesome and seeking for that person to thrive the way you would a dear sister. It gets to that level of inward motivation. Well congregation, this is what brings us to what are use of alocohol and our attitude at work our relationships with people at work have to do with godliness and the gospel of Jesus. NOw understand these two areas were cetnral to the fabric of life in the Roman Empire. In Paul’s day, wine was drunk at virtually every dinner and upto a 1/3 of the Roman poplulation were slaves. In this aras of Asia Minor in particular, drunken feasts were a prpblem, and tradition has it that is how TImothy died being seized by such a mob at a feast to Dionsysis. Only a few places drank beer, but Ephsuss wine, and you know what the local EPhsisian wine by Roman historican was of the worst taste and quality. Timothy like some gave up completly on wine, while others in the congrgeation need this warning: don’t get drunk on wine, whici is debauchery . More than once to deacons not addicted to wine, to widows he has to say don’t be a slave to too much wine.
In regard to slavery in the churches of Asia Minor, Peter and Paul in the letters show that significant parts of the churches were made up of slaves and they worshiped with an equality with their slaves master, as is seen in Philemon who slave Onesimus worshipped with him and eventually it would seem became an overseer in that church. And this could be quite a probelm that Christian slaves felt angry at masters whom they worshipped with. They have equality in the church but these masters still have slaves at home and in their business. Would they treat them as brothers and sisters even though they were bosses. By this time in the Roman Empire reforms to slavery had happen, and though upto third ended as slaves, by way, born into, poverty , or vountairly. it had become largely a temporary thing - 1/2 of slaves by this time were set free - manumission by the time they were 30. Would Christian salve masters set their slaves free. These wwere burning day to day issues alcohol and work relatinoships, and I think they are tied to together with idea of our lives setting an example in purity before the world. He says to the masters in Ephesians - render service benefit to those under you and stop threatening them, because you are under the Master GOd with them in the same way. Paul says in parellel pasage about slavery in Crete to Titus:
not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
And that is the key truth tonight: Our use o alcholol and our work relationships are to adorn the gospel.
Do you know what that word adorn means. It’s the word cosmeo - cosmietics. Like when toured highschool - this iis the cosme lab - Why do we use cosmetics. What’s purpose of bautiying nails hair feet. They add lustre to something. You cget beautified like this and the outward appearance recommends you. The word kind of means like when you shop online and you want to get the best deal but you don’t want junk. So what do you read, at the bottom of the item sdescription - are all these stars - 1-5 star rating. ANd Paul says godliness, the gospel of Jesus saving you but also transforming you, that gets recomended and fleshed out - by the behaviour that everyone sees in your life. Specifically in Titus he is saying, the lowest status people in society, most useful in recomending the gospel to the world - by their attitude and actions to bosses. Now I am asking you in regards to your use of alcohol and to your work and those you work for with, or work for you, what kind of review are people reading of the gospel?
Let’s begin then with Pual’s little parentthetical remark that Timothy shoudl add a little wine to his water.
A. We Adorn the Gospel by neither being Enslaved by, nor Abusing Alcohol.
Your use or abuse or non-use of alcohol, not only has affects on yourself, but on those around you, and on God’s witness to His gospel. Why had Timothy decide to not use alcohol at all? Some say that the false teachers - were practicing abstention from alcohol, kind of works righteousness, and that’s what Paul wants Timothy to avoid for religious reasons. That would be true that we shouldn’t give the ipression that we avoid alcohol because the body and pleasure are bad. And that kind of stern self-dicipoline is part of our salvation. Of course Paul wouldn’t want Timothy to participatee in a forced abstaining from alcohol for religious reasons. IN this letter Paul has already said, everything God made is good and can be used if received with thanksgiving and sanctified with prayer.
For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
But Paul makes no mention to Timothy at this point of a religious reason. Rather he gives the reason:
(No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.)
Timothy was perahps not drinking because of terrible drinking problem in Epehssu and the impression that would leave on belieers and unbelievers alike. He might have been making a statement like I did in universty - I am just not going to take part in debauchery, I will drink latter in life - but not in this context. But given the fact that wine at dinner was comon, and remember distilling alcohol isn’t invented until the Medieval period. Their wine has much less conentration of alcolohl, just from grapes fermenting. And beyond that the wine they would drink at a meal was typically diluted, drunk with 2 parts water to every 1 part wine. Part of the reason for this was drinking water often was contaminated and they knew people were getting sick from just drinking water, so the wine killed the bacteria. And this indeed maybe why Paul empahsis use A LITTLE WINE. And that there seems to be how we ought to adorn the gospel by our use of alcohol.
We can receive God’s good gift of wine or any other alcoholic drink as a gift.
and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.
We could drink that wine that Jesus provided at wedding. But here is the challenge for many of us, the addiction part, the had one, but now seeking after my buzz, my peace, oh captured by the desire to linger over this wonderful wonderful taste.
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine.
Paul says, keep yourself pure take a little wine. And while there was a health reason for Timothy and this is not commanded of every beliver; clearly waht is being fobiddeen here is an abuse of alcohol, having a lot of it. That would for sure include drunkeness - but Paul forbids more than drunkeness how ever you define that line. Look at the principle that Paul says should control your use of any substance or any behaviour:
“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.
DO you see that use of alcohol ought to demonstrate the glories of the gospel in our life! Here is a Christain getting sloshed, here is one in trying to cope with the grind of their daily work, here is one bored, here is one trying to fit in with a bunch of partiers… What is being demonstrated in how they use alcohol? Listen to Paul;s command in
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
Domination and filling. That is what is at stake. Your testimony to what fills and leads your life. Is God’s Holy Spirit, the SPirit fo Christ and Holiness leading us filling us, as we give up self-control ahd let the desir eand pleasure of alcohol rule us? True of any other dominating sin.
And so Paul says, Timothy you are free to drink a little alcohol, it is good for you. Don’t have but free to, and in your case even if the worst wine in the Romnan Empire for your health you better. BUt Tiothy do it with purity, with the care for your ody and the self-cotnrol displayed as a testinony to God’s gospel in your life.
But then Paul switches gears from the general and personal call to purity, in regards to alochol and taking care of our bodies; and he switches to the foruth group that must receive gospel attention if a church is going to flourish. And that is workers and bosses.
B. We Adorn the Gospel by relating to bosses & workers in Christ (instead of profaning & blaspheming God’s Name)
And here we see not only how this business of adorning the gospel with our lives is deadly serious and failure to do so, results in us reviling God’s name, the word is blasphemy, in our work; but also how you and I working in Christ as worker or boss, can result in one of the most powerful testimonies of the gospel to others. Do you see this concern and opporunity in the first command for Christians who have none Christain bosses?
Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled.
There are two description of these Christain workers. They are in a terrbile position, like animals under a yoke. Here we need to understand that early church in no way was seeking to overthrow the institution of slavery. An economic pillar of the ancient economy. By this time some abuses corrected - could own property, so much so that feeed slaves were looked down upon by old -family money - as upstarts. Most could be and were freed. Many treated terribly and had no rights, but some like barbers, butlers, family physicains, attendatnts, teachers, given extraodinary responsibilty and rank. But they were property of another and they were under not a KURIOUS, the usual word for Lord, but under a DESPOT. There have been good despots, but often bad, and always the stress is on having absolute authority. And Pual even in this letter includes in his list of those who are ungodly and sinners, (of whom he considered himself of having been the worst) ENSLAVERS:
understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,
NOw though the church was not going to cahnge this by a social or political revolution, Paul even in this passage will begin to change this all by personal transformation, and one day Chrstian society does elimate salvery as an insititiution and based on the principole that Paul gives in v.2.
BUt Paul has a more urgent concern for the church in work relationships and the personal tranformation that the gopsel must bring to both slave and master. ANd though the institution needs to be overthrown, still for proably over 1/2 of the congregation dialy life involved relating to a despot who had been placed over them and Paul says the order of the day, just like it was for the regard and reverence you show an older man in the congregation or an older woman is HONOUR! Perhaps the easiest way to think about how a Christian should relate to their boss is given in and then directly to this congergation in
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man,
In the same way our use of alcohol and not abuse of it shows the LORD we enjoy and the control and fulness of the Spirit in our lives, so too our work - the waulity of it, the atittude with which it is given is to be billboard of how we serve a good God and how he enables us to be a source of blessing to others. Our manner and atitdue. OUr punctuality i to show that I do this work like your God I want it to succeed and to benefit others. And what is remarkable about that is that it is the lowest rung of society who are uniquely position to show the wonder of the gospel. You say your boss doesn’t value you, that your underapprecdiated, taht your work doesn’ matter - some how doing it as unto the LORD for whatever beenefit will be given to others - that changes everything. ANd it is preciesly the lowliness of the labour that enobles the lowliest of tasks.
And what would such an employer see in this - may be a jerk and just take advantage of it. But the big deal is that he and the rest of the workers and the watching world -see what Christ does to a Christain’s attidue and work and goal in life. Do peope see Christ in your work? If not Paul says we may have a big big problem - i your attitude to the boss that spread sto other workers is the opposite. Listen to waht Paul is refering to in this passage:
And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.
THis morning we read how not taking God’s name in vain - means in all work and everything we do- our way of talking, attiude, our actions are to bear the Name, that is the character of God - and when we don’t we profane God’s name among the nations, among unbelievers. IN this sense it is true the only copy of God’s Wrod that your boss and co-workers are going to read is the outward adornement of the Teaching of God, the Name of God that is on you, they are only going have opportunity to read your actions your attidue and that is to bear God’s name. Your industry, your compassion, your attention to detail, imagination, your honesty. All to reflect our gloriouus LORD and Saviour.
But then Paul says, there was even more at stake when Christian slaves, were working for Christian masters. That was the case of the Christian slave Onesimus and the Christain business man Philemon. Common situation were slave and his master part of the same church, in church total spiritual equality - the slave is my brother, my sister. Onseimus even went on to become an elder as many slaves would And yet there is theirboss from the work week that he has to lead. And now Paul is thinking how those Christain slaves would think of a fellow Christian who doesn’t set them free and keeps them working.
Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved. Teach and urge these things.
Did you catch the reason that Christian slaves would be disrespectful to someone in the congregation, or someone who is a Chrstian who is there boss. It’s because thir boss is a Christian and still is a boss of them. Do you get that? I don’t kow how often I’ve heard these words: I wo’t do business with a Chrsitain, and the ones from denomiation x are the worst. Well that’s a terrible witness. But Paul is saying, not only must you serve well if you have a boss, Christain or non-Christian, but listen if they are Christian you must serve them even better! Why?
Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved. Teach and urge these things.
And here is the twist that is so unexpected and actually is a little seed that eventually led masters like Philemon to free slaves, but our whole society, with men like John Newton and WIlliam Wilberforce to institituionally dismantle the eveil institituion. But the gopsel though we are called acitizens to work for just laws oplitically, the gopsel works first of all and wihtin the church by a personal revolution in our souls, not a social revolution through polictial means. What is this seed, why must Christian workers give it their all as uhto the LORD with Christlike servant attidue to Christian bosses?
IT is because those bosses, those Christain bosses are in that position in the LORD to benefit others by their good service. Read that again - that word to benefit someone, isn’t just serve like we are all called to do, its a special word for those in higher authroity to bless others under their authority. Paul is saying the strategy for Christain workers is to serve better and not rebel, even if they are oppressive. THis even more so if that master is appinted to benefit by his good service to the LORD in being a booss fewllow believers, who are beloved of the LORD. DO you see how Paul is calling Christain masters to begin thinking of their slaves - this is revoultionary. It is radical new spirit of equality that is intorduced when soeone knows Jesus.
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
This doesn’t mean the salves can rebel against their masters, but that they must serve them better, and that masters as Paul urged Philemon really ought to consider their worker on the same level of dignigyt and worth, beloved of God and seek to benefit them. Ulitamtely setting them free.
Both slave and free, both servant and master - the big way of life for them both is self-interest and sin is being dominated by that self-interest. And though the relatinoships with slavery in the church in Roman society incrdibly compoex take time to work out, these dynmaics are universal and the gospel undermines them by all Christains figureing in my position how do I live bearing God’s name, his character as one who serves! The gospel is to transform us unto godliness not just at church, or privately before God, but in our drinking and in our working. We are to be a billboard of Christ as we helfully, zealously, faithfully, patiently work. Chrysostom in this era of slavery and the Christain church, radically called uopon free persons to reverse the cycle of oppression and imitate servants That’s the key that regardless of social circusmtances our work situation, that we let nothing getin the way of gospel service and love, espeicailly when it fellow Christains that we are working with.
Paul didn’t condone the status quo, nor did he call for violent revolution which would turn society against the church in worst way. He called on both master and slave to express the gospel, and those relationshisp and responses of Christain would reshape work. LIke leaven working itself - eventually leaven whole loaf until Willeberforce and Biritsh Empire ban slavery. SLavery exited and exists today, oppressive unfair work environments tooo - like divorce which God granted out fo the harness of the heart, laws to deal with it to protect , so too even now the Christain claing is not political revolution but the name of Christ honoured in wour work and with our bosses.