Do good in all things
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Recap last week
13 As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. 14 If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. 15 Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
Transition to the broader Church.
1. Keep Going! (vs. 13)
Just keep Swimming - Dori
13 As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.
Just because some people have stopped and are idle does not mean you do that.
Living by the lowest common denominator
Instead we are to live by the highest standard. - God’s Word.
2. Keep Obeying! (vs. 14a)
14 If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed.
We live under the authority of Scripture, not others opinions or our feelings.
Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs Authority: God Governs His People through Scripture
Authority in Christianity belongs to God the Creator, who made us to know, love, and serve him, and his way of exercising his authority over us is by means of the truth and wisdom of his written Word.
Liberal Christianity does not do this. Instead it basis action upon what Scripture inspires in them to do, not necessarily living according to what it actually says.
Inspiration vs. Obedience - Kids go clean your room, they are painting it different colors because your instruction inspired them to paint instead of clean. The trash is still in the room.
So why is it important to know the difference? The source of authority maters.
The Scriptures obtain full authority among believers only when men regard them as having sprung from heaven, as if there the living words of God were heard. - John Calvin
If our response to Scripture is found in our inspiration and not in Christ’s declaration then the authority we are basing our lives upon is ourselves.
3. Keep Loving! (vs. 14b-15)
14 If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. 15 Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
Honor/Shame vs. Guilt/Innocence Cultures
The shame was so that person would return to the Church
Warn like a brother
What is Paul doing here? Calling them to love!
Even in discipline love is the goal because we are family.
When we see these three thoughts at the end of this section what we see is that Paul is saying that even in the midst of Church mess, Obedience, Authority, and Love still must exist.
We cannot fall into the trap that when things are good we can do these things but when they are tough we then turn to quitting, emotionalism, and rejection.
Sadly, this is what many Christians in our world do because of how post-modernism/liberal Christianity has effected them with them even knowing it. Our sin tells us to justify our thoughts instead of bending them and our actions to God’s commands. This is why the gospel is so important. The gospel says who we truly are.
GOSPEL - sinners
When we know this truth we can come back to God’s standards and the body is strengthened by each other.