Conduct: Family matters
Life as the church: Book of 1Timothy • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 1:07:34
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Were part of a family
Were part of a family
Yep, as a church we are part of a family that’s been born again. What we do as family members and how we treat one another as family matters.
(insert: Family-matters picture here)
An illustration I read from Eugene Peterson, it is good, focus on the family not the theology of the illustration.
Christians & The Church
Whether we like it or not, the moment we confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, that is, from the time we become a Christian, we are at the same time a member of the Christian church … Our membership in the church is a corollary of our faith in Christ. We can no more be a Christian and have nothing to do with the church than we can be a person and not be in a family.
Membership in the church is a basic spiritual fact for those who confess Christ as Lord. It is not an option for those Christians who happen by nature to be more gregarious than others. It is part of the fabric of redemption. There are Christians, of course, who never put their names down on a membership list; there are Christians who refuse to respond to the call to worship each Sunday; there are Christians who say, “I love God but I hate the church.”
But they are members all the same, whether they like it or not, whether they acknowledge it or not. For God never makes private, secret salvation deals with people. His relationships with us are personal, true; intimate, yes; but private, no. We are a family in Christ. When we become Christians, we are among brothers and sisters in faith. No Christian is an only child.
Taken from A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society by Eugene Peterson
Paul is giving Timothy some instructions for the church regarding treatment of family members.
1 Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers, 2 the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.
There is in the instructions that we are a family and this morning we are going to look at:
Family indeed
Family treatment
Family development
(Transition) - Family, being a member of the family of God, it is a blessing in the best and a help in the worst of times. Family matters, we were created to be in the family and how we treat one another matters. So lets look at these things this morning.
Family indeed
Family indeed
The what, the who and the when of God’s family that makes us a family indeed.
We are the family of God (1Tim3:14-15; Mt12:46-50)
A key passage we have used in each sermon in this series is, well, going to be used today since it has to do with family too.
14 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15 but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.
Jesus spoke of family in the spiritual vs. natural sense too.
Jesus had been teaching a kingdom lesson when his mother, and brothers showed up outside wanting to speak to Him. Jesus responded and changes the narrative to who is family
50 “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
(Transition) So the definition and description of family is not flesh as much as it is the one who does the will of God.
How we became members of the family of God (Mt12:50; Gal3:26-27; Jn3:3-5; Eph1:3-5)
We became members when we obeyed the will of God and doing the will of the Father.
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
We became members when we were born again
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
By being adopted into the family
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
(Transition) - We are a family that is made a family by faith and obedience to the will of God, still when it comes to family indeed one more point to make.
When we became members of the family of God (Mt10:34-39; Mk10:28-30; Heb2:11-12)
When we became family there could be consequences
Like division with blood family
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 “For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. 37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
Consequences like gaining a much larger family
Peter said in Mark that he gave up everything to follow Jesus and Jesus said hey buddy, don’t sweat it no one who gave up did not get back even more, not just in the present age, but the one to come! (ok not scripture be a weak paraphrase of Mk10:28-30)
Larger family that includes Father who is in heaven.
All our christian brothers and sisters as well as
Jesus as our “elder brother”
11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 saying, “I will proclaim Your name to My brethren, In the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.”
(Transition) - - We are a family, that became a family that came with consequences as a family, be them good or bad, they are eternal. So, as an eternal family, time to look at family treatment.
Family Treatment
Family Treatment
How we treat our eternal family, just as our blood family matters.
Family treatment with the right perspective (1Tim5:1-2)
Maybe can say with the right eyes.
1 Never speak harshly to an older man, but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father. Talk to younger men as you would to your own brothers. 2 Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters.
(insert- younger persons perspective PowerPoint here)
From a young persons perspective.
Older men as fathers
Older women as mothers
Younger men as brothers
Younger women as daughters
(insert older persons perspective PowerPoint here)
From older persons perspective
Older men as brothers
Older women as sisters
Younger men as sons
Younger women as daughters
Paul’s given examples
(Insert Pauls perspective picture here)
As a father to Timothy (1Tim1:2, 18; 2Tim1:2)
Timothy called “my true child”
My Son
My beloved son
As a brother to Epaphroditus (Php2:25)
I need to give you this one, love the way Paul puts it
25 But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need;
As a son, inferred, to mother of Rufus (Rom16:13)
In teaching family duties too (Eph6:1-4)
eph6:1-2
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise),
3 so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth. 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Children be obedient and honor father and mother
Like loving fathers, in reasonable treatment
Conduct in family matters where correction is needed (1Tim5:1-2, Gal6:1)
1 Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.
Paul instructs Timothy about family matters, family business and how to address it.
To do it as you would a father, brother, mother, sister in purity
Or as he said to the Galatians
1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.
In spirit of gentleness
(Transition) oh what a difference that can make how we approach family matters. - Now moving on to the application section.
Family Development
Family Development
Developing a strong family comes by example, by experiences and conduct, so let’s look together at these.
Developing by example (1Jn4:9; 1Jn3:16; Jn13:34; Jn14:21, 15:9-10)
Let’s develop this together
Children of loving families, are more the apt to develop loving families
As children of God we can learn godly family values from our Father and our Brother.
From God the Father what love is
9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
From Christ the Son; our brother how to love one another
16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Exampled love and here is another one
34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
Commanded love because of the exampled love.
So, application
know the love of God
Meditate on the love of God
And dwell in the love of God
21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
and add to thta
9 “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
Developing by experience (Php1:3-8; 1The1:6-8)
Relationships are that, people relating together, sharing together, doing together, growing together and that all has shared experiences. Consider this
3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all,
5 in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
7 For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. 8 For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
Paul was reflecting back on their shared experiences together. And with the church at Thessalonica the known exampled experience that had great results
6 You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.
8 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. 9 For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God,
When we spend time together as the family of God, not just in worship, but in fellowship we have opportunities to grow as the family of God the children of God.
Developing through purity of conduct (2Sam13:15; 13:22; 1Tim5:2, 2Tim2:22)
Families do not always get it right, conduct that is
Impure conduct of Amnon did what he should not and because of such hated his sister Tamar with a very great hatred.
Impure conduct of Absalom to hate his brother Amnon who violated their sister Tamar.
There can be improper conduct between brothers and sisters in Christ too, hence why Paul is giving cautionary instructions regarding conduct to Timothy
2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.
Commentary on this verse by Barnes says
“He was to indulge in no word, or look, or action, which could by any possibility be construed as manifesting an improper state of feeling.”
If we are honest we can say that improper conduct between brothers and sisters in Christ have devastated many congregations.
So, time for the instructions,
22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
Ask yourself today are you doing these things, are you pursuing these things. Life in the family of God as a child of God is better when we remember we are family in word and deed!.
(Invitation- insert family-of-God picture here)
Keep in context of the message, family, are you a member, how to become a member and the responsibility as a member of the family in our family conduct
(Song) (Prayer) (Exit)