The Root of Hospitality

Good morning, welcome to NHCC, please open your Bibles to Romans 12.

Butterfield book.

Give some weight to the next three weeks.

Fears in the Christian life that lead to doubt.

Like Oscar, I’m working on this.

Two main goals for this morning:

First, rightly understand the command of biblical hospitality and be able to differentiate it from secular definitions of hospitality.

Then, I’d like to figure out biblically where the hospitable mindset and behavior come from. What is the root of biblical hospitality?

First, let’s look to the task of rightly understanding the word hospitality as it shows up in Scripture, typically as a command of those who are of God’s people, both in the Old Testament and the New.

For this, I’ve pulled out one particular verse to examine in its surrounding context to see how we might be challenged, even today, to extend biblical hospitality to others that we encounter.

Romans 12:13- Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Pray.

Here, in Paul’s letter to the Romans, we have a clear command given to the body of Christ to show hospitality to others. Let’s notice some important points to be made about this text.

First, notice the context. At the beginning of Romans 12, in v. 1-2, Paul says that rather than being conformed to the world (an aim of many of us), we ought to instead be transformed in mind to know the will of God.

V. 3-8- serving those around us.

V. 9-21 focuses on what such a transformed life of service looks like.

Paul is describing the life of those who have been transformed by the Spirit, those who are in Christ.

He’s not describing those with a particular set of gifts, or a particular income level, or a particular demeanor, but instead is making the point that if you are a believer of Jesus Christ, here is what your life should look like.

And nuzzled comfortably in this set of instructions is the caring for the needs of believers and showing hospitality, specifically to the stranger (more on this later).

Paul’s intention, then, is that every believer would have a hospitable heart.

But there is one more thing to note. Look at the instruction in its fullness. Seek to show hospitality.

Other translations might use “pursue.”

Important that we grasp what sort of pursuit this is. This is the same Greek word used to describe Saul’s persecution of Christians.

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

Saul’s work of persecuting the early church had become his life’s focus and work. Everything else revolved around his hunt for Christians.

This mindset is to be ours in hospitality.

What, then, do we learn about hospitality?

This is more than an occasional task.

It is something that will take thought, work, preparation and sacrifice.

How are the Butterfields doing this? It takes up massive amounts of space in their hearts, minds and lives.

But they have chosen this. They’ve considered all other paths and found biblical hospitality to be of the greatest importance. We would do well to come to the same conclusion.

Biblical hospitality is to be a frame of mind, a lens through which we see all of life.

And in order for this to happen, it will require us to say no to many other pursuits, hobbies, and priorities, all of which likely require a lot of time, resources and money.

Consider the mindset of Saul in his hunting and persecuting of Christians. Might we have the same mindset in our pursuit of hospitality shown to those around us.

So, we understand that biblical hospitality is commanded. What, then, is biblical hospitality? Let’s notice three definitions.

1. Biblical Hospitality is the inviting of others into your life.

In the most basic sense of the phrase, this is what hospitality that is biblical in nature is.

Leviticus 19:33-34- “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Notice the language of the command given to Israel. Because you were once sojourners, because you were once outsiders and strangers in Egypt, you must now care for those who are outsiders and strangers.

And such care is described as treating him as though he is native among you.

Now, let’s take this principle and apply it in a couple different ways.

First, the challenge is to take those who might not typically fit in, and invite them to feel at home in our lives.

For Israel, it was taking those who were not Israelites and helping them enjoy and feel at home in Israel.

In fact, this is at the root of the Greek word that is translated as hospitality.

Philoxenia- made up of two words.

Philos- friend

Xenos- stranger, or other

The word literally means that we are friends to the stranger, to those who are unlike us, who don’t naturally fit in to our normal patterns of life.

And consider how we display friendship to our current friends.

We know of what is going on in their lives, we sniff out and ask about their needs, we invite them into our homes, we share our stuff, we share our food, we loan our cars, we offer a place to live. We delight in inviting them to be a part of our lives.

Hospitality, in its most basic form, is taking such a mindset not only with the people we know and love, but also with the stranger, even the stranger with whom we share nothing in common.

This is what we are called to, it is not recommended, or suggested, it is at the very heart of our calling as followers of Jesus.

In pursuing and extending hospitality, we extend the very life of Jesus that is present in us, recognizing His friendship and grace toward His enemies. More bluntly, in being hospitable toward all people, we become like Jesus.

But there is more from Leviticus. What is present in a heart that makes it hospitable? It is memory.

Remember that you too were once strangers, aliens, outsiders living in a foreign land.

Specifically, you were slaves.

The Exodus, God’s saving of Israel and delivering them from captivity mirrors our own redemption and freedom from the bondage of sin and death. Israel’s salvation mirrors our own.

So consider the person who is different from us, likely knowing very little about Jesus, likely caring very little about Jesus, and sensing very little need for change in their lives.

I’ve found that there are two temptations in how we deal with those who are still captured by the power of sin.

First is avoidance. Their problem is their own. We want nothing to do with them. For too long, this has been the story of the evangelical church.

We see sinners, under the weight of their own sin, willfully sinning, and we think that the best approach is to pretend that they do not exist.

Clearly, this is not hospitality. Hospitality welcomes the sinner, recognizing ourselves in them.

Every one of us has been enslaved to sin in the exact way that they are now. Our memory of our own sinfulness is meant to drive our friendship with sinners.

But there is another, equally egregious temptation. Sometimes we want to allow others to continue in their sin, sometimes convincing them that their slavery is no slavery at all.

Can we imagine telling someone in physical slavery that their situation is not all that bad? That it ought to be the preferred life?

Again, this is not hospitality. It is instead some form of ignorant peacemaking that ignores peace with God.

If avoidance was a problem of the past and present, perhaps the temptation of ignoring slavery to sin is the problem of the present and future.

And so we find ourselves with dual temptations, being asked to thread the needle. Welcome people into our homes, into our lives, while gently and lovingly giving the Gospel that transforms lives and sets free from the bondage of sin.

And all of this leads to our next point, which is the aim of biblical hospitality.

2. Biblical Hospitality introduces Jesus and builds up in Jesus.

This is where biblical hospitality differs from every other sort of hospitality that we have ever heard of.

Biblical hospitality welcomes people into our lives with kindness, care and love, with the intention that Jesus will be shown to the person who is our guest.

In many ways, biblical hospitality is meant to fulfill the great commission from Matthew 28.

Matthew 28:19-20- Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

How have we, in our own lives, found ourselves to be fulfilling the great commission to go and make disciples, and to grow them through the teaching of the Word of God?

This is Jesus’ final words to the disciples in the gospel of Matthew. With everything that Matthew could have chosen to end his gospel account of the life of Jesus, it was these words. They carry some weight.

So how are we being obedient to such a command? Or, what are our methods for making disciples? Do we have any? Is evangelism even a concern for us?

For so many, evangelism has been boiled down to a surface level conversation about what we believe or an invitation to our worship gatherings on Sunday morning.

I am assuming that such evangelism yields very little result of disciples being made, baptized and taught.

Please do not misunderstand, these are important methods, they’re just incomplete.

So what is the alternative?

I would argue that the best possible method for the fulfillment of the great commission today is biblical hospitality.

We meet the stranger, the sinner, the outcast, the neighbor, the other, and we welcome them into our lives. In doing so, we reflect the love and truth of Jesus Christ. In the most basic sense, we introduce people to Jesus through our lives, our words, our actions and our love.

This is the same for disciple-making and growing. Not only do we introduce people to Jesus, but we intend to mature people in Jesus once they know and love Him.

No other form of hospitality has this as the end goal. Other goals might be impressing people with our homes and our stuff, helping people know that they matter, or simply enjoying their company, but these goals fall well short of the priorities of biblical hospitality.

It is not enough for us to simply invite people into our homes for a meal and somehow think we have fulfilled the instruction to be hospitable people. The end goal must always be in mind. We introduce others to Jesus and build them up in Him as well.

Finally, how does this happen? How do we share the love and truth of Jesus with those who have been invited into our lives? What must happen?

3. Biblical Hospitality stems from a life that is immersed in Jesus.

The first thing we need to see is that hospitality, since it is rooted in obedience and evangelism, is a fruit of God’s work in and through us.

Results don’t come from within, they come from the work of God’s Spirit.

With this being the case, it is not simply about trying harder, but instead simply recognizing our character as people who are hospitable as we reflect the hospitality of Jesus.

This has massive implications. Obedience to God in this area of our lives comes from being deeply rooted, or immersed, in Jesus. Notice what Jesus says in John 15.

John 15:4-5- Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15:12-13- “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:16-17- You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

Fruit comes as a result of being connected to Jesus. Notice that the text doesn’t say that our obedience, our fruit, leads to a connection to Jesus. Instead, what comes first is our deep abiding in Christ. Being connected to the vine produces fruit, and without such a connection, no fruit will be produced.

So, another difficult question. When our lives are observed, are we deeply immersed in Jesus? Are we spending significant time in God’s Word, in prayer and conversation with God, in fellowship with believers who are prodding you on in the faith? Has the life of the Church become a priority in your life?

Here is why these are such important questions. Because the idea of evangelism can be unbearably uncomfortable. How can I share the gospel, especially with those who don’t want to hear it?

Invite them into your life, which is already immersed in Jesus. Live in such a way that Jesus will be seen and heard through your life, your behavior and your words.

Consider the lives of the New Testament witnesses that we have in Scripture. They could not help but talk about Jesus because they were so filled with Him.

So we invite people to dinner and share with them what we have been learning in our time of studying the Word of God. Or, better yet, we invite them to read something with us. We do our family devotions together and welcome people to read, pray and sing with us. We invite other believers as well in order to build relationships.

Stated plainly, we abide in Christ and His presence so overflows in us that people cannot help but be introduced to Him.

This is the how of biblical hospitality. We not only invite people into our lives with the intention of introducing them to Jesus and building them up in Jesus, but we accomplish this by abiding in Jesus to bear the fruit of hospitality.

Conclude- This is a hard thought. If you’ve read any of Butterfield’s book, it’s a difficult book. Paul’s instruction from Romans 12 is difficult, as is Jesus’ command in John 15. My fear is that all of this will be dismissed because of the difficulty of the task at hand.

Please recognize this- we have x amount of years in this life. That number is constantly decreasing.

Tim Keller- 70 year old pastor with pancreatic cancer- thinking of life in terms of years instead of decades.

What will be your priority? Consider the outstanding words of C.T. Studd- “Only one life, twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

What you do with this life matters more than we think it does. Biblical hospitality is not easy, but it is of great importance to God and His purposes in this world. We will nearly always find that it is in the most difficult endeavors of life in which we find ourselves to be most shaped into the likeness of Jesus.

I’d like to leave you with these incredible closing words from pastor Chad Ashby.

Chad Ashby- “Showing hospitality is a fight. Satan will convince you, six ways to Sunday, that you don’t have time to share your table with others. Whether scheduling issues, sports practices, fatigue, or money constraints — there will always be a reason not to invite others over for dinner. But hospitality is worth the fight. When you survey your kitchen at the night’s close, and it is filled with dirty silverware, piles of plates, and a sink overflowing with greasy pans and pots, may you realize these are the well-used weapons of our war against the darkness. Make your ladles, casserole dishes, and cookie sheets become your trusty side arms in our fight to expand his kingdom.”