Love Over Liberty: Finding Harmony Among Believers - Sunday Evening - October 20, 2024
This sermon focuses on the crucial theme of unity within the church, emphasizing that Christian liberty should be exercised with love for fellow believers. Pastor Josh Massaro delves into Acts 15, where the early church navigated the tension between Jewish and Gentile believers regarding the law and faith. He highlights how the Jerusalem council reached a consensus that salvation comes through faith alone, while also encouraging Gentile Christians to be considerate of their Jewish counterparts to maintain harmony. The message calls for a selfless approach where personal liberties are limited by love, fostering an environment of encouragement and peace. Ultimately, the episode serves as a reminder of the importance of prioritizing unity and understanding in the body of Christ over individual preferences or rights.
Takeaways:
- The core message of Acts 15 emphasizes unity among believers, prioritizing love over personal liberty.
- Pastor Josh highlights the importance of understanding how law, liberty, and love coexist in faith.
- Believers are reminded that their freedom shouldn't become a stumbling block for others.
- The Jerusalem council's decision aimed to maintain harmony between Jewish and Gentile Christians.
- True Christian maturity involves balancing personal convictions with the need for church unity.
- Silas's commitment to remain in Antioch illustrates the value of long-term pastoral support.
Links referenced in this episode:
Thank you for joining our podcast. Visit our website at https://middletownbaptistchurch.org/
Subscribe to our YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@middletownbaptistchurchde5091
Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MBCDelaware
This podcast is produced by Ralph Estep, Jr., host of the Ask Ralph Podcast, a daily podcast on Christian Finance you can find it at https://www.askralphpodcast.com/
00:00 - None
00:00 - Introduction to the Podcast
00:23 - Recap of Acts 15
01:12 - The Jerusalem Council: Law, Liberty, and Love
04:04 - Guidelines for Unity
05:37 - The Importance of Love in Liberty
23:23 - The Role of the Holy Spirit in Unity
52:42 - Conclusion and Encouragement
Pastor Josh
Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast, where we are proclaiming the truth to the world.
Pastor Josh
My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to this podcast.
Pastor Josh
I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen you in the word of God.
Pastor Josh
Now come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today.
Pastor Josh
All right, well, we're going to go ahead and get into acts 15.
Pastor Josh
If you have your bibles, turn to acts 15, and we are going to start in verse number 22.
Pastor Josh
Now, if you were not here last week, we covered a lot of ground last week, and so I'm going to try to recap it the best that I can without preaching the message again.
Pastor Josh
If you would like to go back and understand the context of what we're going to be talking about tonight, I would encourage you to somewhere on the Internet, find it.
Pastor Josh
There's multiple places you can find it.
Pastor Josh
You can go to YouTube, you can go back on facebook, or if you listen to podcasts, it's on the podcast on our church network.
Pastor Josh
But I would say it would help to have listened to that sermon as we come forward and listen to this one.
Pastor Josh
I'm not saying it's impossible for you to understand this tonight, but it would give you some context.
Pastor Josh
It would give you some understanding.
Pastor Josh
But what have we been talking about?
Pastor Josh
Well, in acts chapter 15, we've been talking about the law, liberty, and love.
Pastor Josh
The law, liberty, and love.
Pastor Josh
How do those three things come together?
Pastor Josh
Is the law a real thing?
Pastor Josh
Yes.
Pastor Josh
Is it important?
Pastor Josh
Yes.
Pastor Josh
But how does the law integrate with liberty?
Pastor Josh
Do we as christians have liberty, freedom?
Pastor Josh
Yes.
Pastor Josh
And so then how do those things, the law and liberty, tie in together with love?
Pastor Josh
Well, we're going to talk more about that here this evening.
Pastor Josh
Tonight's more of a transitionary message to get to our next story.
Pastor Josh
But here we're going to see that the believers there in Jerusalem, after the Jerusalem council, are going to send news.
Pastor Josh
They're going to send a letter back to the gentile believers, back to the jewish believers at a place called Antioch.
Pastor Josh
And so they're going to pass along the news of what the conclusion was at the Jerusalem council.
Pastor Josh
What was the issue at the Jerusalem council?
Pastor Josh
Okay, I know this can be a little bit brainy here, but I.
Pastor Josh
Follow me because this is important.
Pastor Josh
There were jewish Christians coming from Jerusalem, which was the capital, which was the centerpiece, which was the heartbeat of the church.
Pastor Josh
And they were going around specifically to churches that had gentile believers.
Pastor Josh
So you had Jews and gentiles both Christians in the same church.
Pastor Josh
And what was happening is that there were these jewish Christians that were going to the Gentile Christians and telling them, you have to become a jew to become a Christian.
Pastor Josh
You have to be a Jew to continue to stay being a Christian.
Pastor Josh
And the issue was that the Gentiles were confused because they were hearing from Paul and Barnabas and the other people.
Pastor Josh
No, it was by faith alone.
Pastor Josh
And so this was confusing them.
Pastor Josh
This was causing them issues.
Pastor Josh
This was becoming a stumbling block.
Pastor Josh
So now it's faith plus doing all the acts of a person according to the jewish law, the levitical law.
Pastor Josh
And so they were confused.
Pastor Josh
They didn't know what to do.
Pastor Josh
So they went back to Jerusalem and they had this council.
Pastor Josh
Paul, Barnabas, Peter, James, and many of the other apostles and the fathers of the ministry there at that point were going to have this discussion.
Pastor Josh
And they had two sides, one side, faith and faith alone.
Pastor Josh
You dont have to become a Jew to become a Christian.
Pastor Josh
And the other side was, no, you got to adhere to all these things.
Pastor Josh
And what they came to this conclusion in this passage was this salvation and sanctification.
Pastor Josh
So your salvation, that's your transformation in Christ and your spiritual growth comes from faith and faith alone.
Pastor Josh
It does not come from the action of following the law.
Pastor Josh
The law is important to show us what is right and wrong, but the law does not save us, and the law does not keep us saved.
Pastor Josh
But there were people that were confused with this because they were saying, well, why did God give us the law?
Pastor Josh
And now he's saying that we have liberty.
Pastor Josh
Do we need to follow the law?
Pastor Josh
Well, what they came up with was basically a compromise or a list of rules, basically guidelines for the Gentiles to be able to walk in unity with the jewish people.
Pastor Josh
And so what it was, was this.
Pastor Josh
You have the freedom to.
Pastor Josh
In this case, it was eat meat.
Pastor Josh
Sacrifice to idols.
Pastor Josh
You have the freedom to do these things in your culture, but your freedom does not trump your love for your fellow brother and sister in Christ.
Pastor Josh
And so the.
Pastor Josh
The pinnacle of the teaching here in acts chapter 15 was unity.
Pastor Josh
I want you to think about that.
Pastor Josh
It's unity.
Pastor Josh
It's not your liberty, it's not the law, it's unity.
Pastor Josh
So how can we have unity when you have two different groups of people within the same body of believers?
Pastor Josh
So let's you say, well, what does that mean for us Jews and gentiles?
Pastor Josh
Okay, well, we don't necessarily wrestle with Jews and gentiles within our church.
Pastor Josh
We might wrestle with people that grew up in a very legalistic, law abiding church and maybe people that didn't grow up in that environment.
Pastor Josh
So how do we with people that are offended by certain things that aren't necessarily listed in scripture, how do we deal with people in that regard, with people that come in and say, well, why is it wrong to do this?
Pastor Josh
Show me in the Bible where it says that what we see here in this passage, that there wasn't necessarily a list of rules that they said you have to do to become a Christian, you have to do become a church member.
Pastor Josh
But they said these are things that you need to follow so that there can be unity in the church.
Pastor Josh
So my love was my.
Pastor Josh
What?
Pastor Josh
It was the focus.
Pastor Josh
So, my liberty, I want you to think about this phrase here this evening as we jump into our text.
Pastor Josh
My liberty as a Christian is limited by my love for my fellow brother and sister in Christ.
Pastor Josh
I have complete liberty in Christ, but also my liberty needs to be thinking about the love that I have for another Christian.
Pastor Josh
I don't want to be a stumbling block for somebody else.
Pastor Josh
So I have the freedom to live out in my life, my convictions, but I don't have the freedom to offend a brother or sister in Christ to allow them to come to a place of sin.
Pastor Josh
And so there's a passage of scripture in first corinthians that talks all about that.
Pastor Josh
And I think it's such an important verse to understand when it comes to our christian life and our christian maturity.
Pastor Josh
This is all I believe, talking about christian maturity, because when I'm a new Christian, I'm like, you know, very much, what does the Bible say about XYz?
Pastor Josh
And that's a good thing to be in.
Pastor Josh
We should always be seeing what the Bible says about XYz.
Pastor Josh
Okay.
Pastor Josh
What does the Bible say about love?
Pastor Josh
What does the Bible say about sin?
Pastor Josh
What does the Bible say about this?
Pastor Josh
But then there's a place in our life where we need to have grace and patience with other people that might be at different steps of the path that we are on.
Pastor Josh
And so it's that unity that we're praying for.
Pastor Josh
Yeah.
Pastor Josh
We can exercise our judgment upon people within the church.
Pastor Josh
Let's be honest.
Pastor Josh
Let's pick out a person every single week.
Pastor Josh
You know, we pick out a missionary of the week.
Pastor Josh
Let's pick out a church member of the week, and let's follow him around the whole week.
Pastor Josh
Okay.
Pastor Josh
And let's.
Pastor Josh
Let's judge every single action that they do.
Pastor Josh
Could we find some stones to throw?
Pastor Josh
Could we find some issues with every single person in this room.
Pastor Josh
Of course we could, but that's not the purpose.
Pastor Josh
The purpose is to exercise love in accordance to our liberty and not allow the law to be a division amongst the believers.
Pastor Josh
The law is important because the law tells us what's right and wrong, but the law isn't what we have to follow to keep our salvation.
Pastor Josh
And so, first corinthians, chapter ten, verse 23, says this.
Pastor Josh
We're not going to read the whole passage, but I think that this is a core tenet to living within a church with different types of people.
Pastor Josh
It says, all things are lawful for me.
Pastor Josh
Paul says, I can do what I want.
Pastor Josh
I have the freedom, okay?
Pastor Josh
I'm not bound by the law anymore.
Pastor Josh
Romans talks all about this.
Pastor Josh
I'm not under the bondage of the law.
Pastor Josh
I am now under the freedom of forgiveness.
Pastor Josh
But he says, all things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient.
Pastor Josh
Expedient means beneficial.
Pastor Josh
There are things that we can do as christians that are not beneficial for us.
Pastor Josh
Okay?
Pastor Josh
And then he goes on to say, all things are lawful, but all things edify not.
Pastor Josh
Now, in this case, we could talk about the own edification in our life, but the edification of others.
Pastor Josh
So, yeah, could I exercise my freedom in front of a fellow brother or sister in Christ?
Pastor Josh
Yes, but that might not be edifying for them.
Pastor Josh
So I need to choose in my life with discernment the times where I exercise my liberty and the times where I.
Pastor Josh
I limit my liberty for the sake of my weaker brother or sister in Christ.
Pastor Josh
Or my brother or sister in Christ.
Pastor Josh
That's different than me, that has a different background.
Pastor Josh
So we don't deal with the Jew and Gentile issues so much in our church, but we might deal with people that come from different backgrounds.
Pastor Josh
We might have people coming from backgrounds that are very legalistic or very law driven.
Pastor Josh
We might have people coming from backgrounds of a.
Pastor Josh
I mean, maybe a cult.
Pastor Josh
I don't know.
Pastor Josh
We have a diverse background, so we have people bringing in a lot of baggage, and we have people coming in from backgrounds that say, well, I was at a church that said I could do whatever I wanted to do and it didn't matter.
Pastor Josh
And so that, how do we coincide?
Pastor Josh
How can we live together in peace and unity?
Pastor Josh
The Bible says it's practicing this liberty, but also in the sake of love.
Pastor Josh
So all things are lawful, but not all things are expedient.
Pastor Josh
Beneficial for me.
Pastor Josh
All things are lawful, but not all things edify my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Pastor Josh
So you might say, well, what, what, what does that look like today.
Pastor Josh
Okay?
Pastor Josh
So we go back and we look at what the rules were.
Pastor Josh
Go back to verse number 20 with me in acts chapter 15.
Pastor Josh
There's a long Runway here, but we're getting there.
Pastor Josh
He says, but that we write unto them that they abstain from pollution of idols.
Pastor Josh
Now, in this case, in the King James, it doesn't clarify this completely, but this is specifically talking about the eating of meat sacrificed to idols.
Pastor Josh
Okay?
Pastor Josh
Now, I mentioned this last week kind of as a joke.
Pastor Josh
None of us are going over to each other's house guessing that, hey, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I wonder if they sacrificed this meat to Baal.
Pastor Josh
We don't have to struggle with that, okay?
Pastor Josh
That's not common.
Pastor Josh
Now, if we lived in another country, maybe.
Pastor Josh
Maybe this is a big issue.
Pastor Josh
But then we see other things.
Pastor Josh
Now it says from fornication.
Pastor Josh
Now, we know that fornication is sin.
Pastor Josh
But in this case, in their society, they practice, in their culture, marriage, a lot different than the jewish people practice marriage.
Pastor Josh
And so for the jewish people, they were looking at the way that the former pagans were living in their marriages, and they were like, the way that you guys are married and remarried, and all of this is an issue.
Pastor Josh
And so they said, follow the laws of God when it comes to your eating, it comes to your marriage.
Pastor Josh
And then it goes on to say, from the things strangled and from blood, that's talking about eating kosher food, eating food that was passed by, passed through the levitical law.
Pastor Josh
So he says, hey, for the gentile believers at this church in Antioch, okay, and maybe in Corinth and maybe in some of these other places, he says this.
Pastor Josh
He says, eat the kosher meat so that you're not an offense to your fellow brother and sister in Christ, or at least in their presence.
Pastor Josh
And so what we can see here is this one commentator put it this way.
Pastor Josh
Gentiles had the right to eat meat sacrificed to idols, to continue in their marriage practices, and to eat food without kosher bleeding.
Pastor Josh
Because these were aspects of the mosaic law.
Pastor Josh
They were definitely not under the mosaic law.
Pastor Josh
However, they were encouraged, or even possibly we could challenge, required from the early church to lay down their rights in these matters as a display of love to their jewish brethren.
Pastor Josh
And so the true question is this.
Pastor Josh
Am I willing to limit my liberty for the sake of my fellow brother or sister in Christ?
Pastor Josh
Am I willing to say, yeah, I have the right to do that, but in this time of my life, I'm going to not do that so I can be a better example for that person.
Pastor Josh
Now, again, we talked about this last week.
Pastor Josh
There are some people that would say, I don't want you to do that because I don't like you to do that.
Pastor Josh
Okay, well, just because you don't like someone doing something, that doesn't mean.
Pastor Josh
That doesn't give you the right to limit them.
Pastor Josh
It's specifically in the case of offending them to sin.
Pastor Josh
So for an example, let's say, you know, let's say somebody had a background in a certain lifestyle, and me, as a Christian, I can kind of dabble in that.
Pastor Josh
Maybe I can say, well, you know what?
Pastor Josh
It's okay to watch this or listen to that.
Pastor Josh
And for them, they're like, no, because when I'm around that, that brings me back to what I used to be.
Pastor Josh
And please, brother, please don't do that around me because that causes me to get back into that life.
Pastor Josh
Now, that's the way it should happen.
Pastor Josh
Now then it's my job to say, how am I going to respond to that?
Pastor Josh
Well, who are you to tell me that that's not a problem.
Pastor Josh
That doesn't bother me at all.
Pastor Josh
But that, brother, has asked you in grace to say that just around me, please don't do that.
Pastor Josh
Please don't say that.
Pastor Josh
Please don't listen to that.
Pastor Josh
Please don't do that.
Pastor Josh
And then we can say, okay, now I can then exercise my love for that person and say, you know what, around you, I will guard you from that.
Pastor Josh
That doesn't mean that in my life, I have to avoid everything that person's conviction is.
Pastor Josh
But around them, I need to be cautious, and there needs to be dialogue.
Pastor Josh
And so me sacrifice to idols is not something that we struggle with.
Pastor Josh
But there's a lot of things that we struggle with.
Pastor Josh
I mean, I grew up, I could talk about real practical things here, and I'm probably going to offend some people tonight, but these are just things that we have to talk about.
Pastor Josh
I grew up in an environment that going to a movie theater was a sin.
Pastor Josh
Okay?
Pastor Josh
In their mind, like, you can't walk into a movie theater.
Pastor Josh
If you walk into a movie theater, you have committed a sin.
Pastor Josh
Doesn't matter if you're going to watch a kid's movie right now, is it a sin to walk into a movie theater?
Pastor Josh
No.
Pastor Josh
Can it be a sin by going in and watching the thing that you shouldn't watch?
Pastor Josh
Or some would argue you're promoting Hollywood, right?
Pastor Josh
And we could discuss that, right?
Pastor Josh
But in and of itself, me walking in there is not a sin.
Pastor Josh
Now, if someone said, hey, it's a conviction for me not to go there and to support that.
Pastor Josh
Okay, well, I'm not going to say, hey, we're going to go out and have a fellowship and Bible study.
Pastor Josh
We're going to go to the movies first.
Pastor Josh
No, I've then offended their conviction.
Pastor Josh
I've offended their biblical preference, and I'm using that as an example.
Pastor Josh
There's a lot of other things that we could talk about, and all of, you know, these hot button issues.
Pastor Josh
And a lot of people say, there's no gray in the Bible.
Pastor Josh
There's no.
Pastor Josh
It's all black and white in scripture, folks.
Pastor Josh
There's a lot of things that scripture speaks to, principles about things.
Pastor Josh
But the Bible doesn't address 21st century items.
Pastor Josh
Okay, so, for example, the Bible doesn't mention an iPhone.
Pastor Josh
Okay?
Pastor Josh
I've got my iPhone up here reading my notes.
Pastor Josh
The Bible doesn't say, you know what?
Pastor Josh
As a good Christian, you should not have an iPhone.
Pastor Josh
But can an iPhone be a stumbling block to someone who is struggling with certain sins?
Pastor Josh
Of course.
Pastor Josh
Of course it can be.
Pastor Josh
And so for me, as a Christian, I can't go up to someone and go, well, you don't have an iPhone.
Pastor Josh
You don't have a smartphone.
Pastor Josh
You don't allow your kids to have a smartphone.
Pastor Josh
Oh, come on.
Pastor Josh
Grow up.
Pastor Josh
Come on.
Pastor Josh
It's the 21st century.
Pastor Josh
No.
Pastor Josh
If that's that person's conviction within the church, honor that conviction for them and respect that conviction doesn't mean that you have to follow that.
Pastor Josh
Now, we're not talking about items in scripture that are clearly stated.
Pastor Josh
So if someone comes up and says, you know what, pastor?
Pastor Josh
I really do feel that I can lie and cheat and steal all I want, okay?
Pastor Josh
I can be unfaithful to my spouse.
Pastor Josh
I can do all this.
Pastor Josh
I can do all that.
Pastor Josh
And no, no, that's not what that's talking about there.
Pastor Josh
It's talking about issues that aren't explicitly stated in scripture.
Pastor Josh
And so what we're seeing here in this case is that they leave with unity.
Pastor Josh
They leave an agreement.
Pastor Josh
Now, we could talk about this a lot more, but we're not gonna continue on in that mind.
Pastor Josh
We're gonna leave the Jerusalem council in their answer, and we're gonna leave to them reporting that back to the Gentile Christians and the jewish Christians there at Antioch.
Pastor Josh
So let's pick it up in verse 22.
Pastor Josh
Okay.
Pastor Josh
We're going to see the product or the result of unity.
Pastor Josh
We're going to see the product of love before liberty.
Pastor Josh
What happens then pleased it the apostles and elders with the whole church.
Pastor Josh
Now, this is the church in Jerusalem.
Pastor Josh
They're in unity here.
Pastor Josh
They all came in in disagreement.
Pastor Josh
They're leaving with unity.
Pastor Josh
This is how it should work.
Pastor Josh
We come in maybe with different opinions, different thoughts, different convictions, but we should leave here in unity.
Pastor Josh
And it says, they leave.
Pastor Josh
And they were pleased to send chosen men of their company to Antioch.
Pastor Josh
That's the original church with the conflict with Paul and Barnabas, namely Judas, surnamed Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren.
Pastor Josh
So you say, what's going on here?
Pastor Josh
Well, they are leaving with unity, and they're excited to report this back to the church in Antioch.
Pastor Josh
And I would say that much of the credit goes to these certain men listening to the spirit of God walking in unity.
Pastor Josh
They allow themselves to be convinced by the evidence from scripture and the confirmation of the Holy Spirit, and they're in agreement.
Pastor Josh
This is beautiful.
Pastor Josh
I think of the verse in psalm 133.
Pastor Josh
Psalm 133, verse one.
Pastor Josh
It says this, behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
Pastor Josh
There's something miraculous about unity.
Pastor Josh
People from different backgrounds, different cultures, different preferences can walk in unity.
Pastor Josh
And the Bible says how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together with unity.
Pastor Josh
It is the heart of God for christians to walk in unity.
Pastor Josh
The reality is, is that there's going to be conflict.
Pastor Josh
How do we deal with the conflict?
Pastor Josh
We deal with the conflict with seeking after scripture, seeking after the spirit, and walking in unity together.
Pastor Josh
When we leave in unity, when we leave in unity, we leave, as it says here, with joy and pleasure.
Pastor Josh
It doesn't mean that we'll leave with our way.
Pastor Josh
You know what happens sometimes with christians when we come in with a conflict?
Pastor Josh
We want to leave the room with our way.
Pastor Josh
I'm the right one and no one could tell me else.
Pastor Josh
No one could tell me another way.
Pastor Josh
The truth is, is are we open to have dialogue with a fellow brother and sister in Christ and ultimately check it with scripture.
Pastor Josh
Check it with scripture.
Pastor Josh
And that's what they did here.
Pastor Josh
And so they wrote letters, verse 23.
Pastor Josh
And they wrote letters by them after this manner, the apostles and elders and brethren saying, greeting unto the brethren, which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, for as much as we have heard.
Pastor Josh
So they heard the conflict that certain men went out from us having troubled you with words.
Pastor Josh
So they're admitting wrong.
Pastor Josh
You see that there part of joy and unity is admitting, hey, we are responsible for this.
Pastor Josh
Some of our own people went out and caused issues, they said, for certain, which went out from us having troubled you with words subverting your souls, saying, ye must be circumcised and keep the law.
Pastor Josh
So they're admitting they're wrong.
Pastor Josh
They said, some of us went out to you and said, some of you have to be circumcised to be saved.
Pastor Josh
And some of you have.
Pastor Josh
And all of you have to keep the law to be saved.
Pastor Josh
And therefore, they're admitting where they fell.
Pastor Josh
They're admitting where they had flaws and admitted that they had to get this right.
Pastor Josh
And they said, to whom we gave no such commandment meaning, hey, we didn't tell them to do this, but they did this anyway.
Pastor Josh
It seemed good unto us being assembled with one accord.
Pastor Josh
So they came together in one accord to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of Lord Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh
So they said, we're sending real legitimate people to you, real legitimate missionaries to come to you to bring this important message, verse 27.
Pastor Josh
We have sent, therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.
Pastor Josh
And so they said, we have these individuals that are going to come and they're going to bring this letter to you and they're going to explain this.
Pastor Josh
And so the letter gives the express decision of the Jerusalem council that the Gentiles should consider themselves under no obligation to the rituals of Judaism except for the sensitivity which love demands.
Pastor Josh
You're not under the law, but love might demand you to be subject to some of the other people there in your fellowship, that is, to preserve the fellowship of the jewish and gentile believers.
Pastor Josh
And so this letter was written specifically to those churches where Jews and Gentiles mix together.
Pastor Josh
There was potential tension and conflict with them.
Pastor Josh
It was not addressed to every gentile congregation because there were gentile congregations that would have not had this conflict.
Pastor Josh
They wouldn't have had any Jews in their midst.
Pastor Josh
So this wouldn't have been an issue.
Pastor Josh
This was for congregations that were diverse.
Pastor Josh
And there are a lot of churches in this world today, in this country today, that everybody in the seats have the same convictions.
Pastor Josh
And there isn't going to be a conflict in that, right?
Pastor Josh
The conflicts come from the color of the carpet, color of the paint on the walls.
Pastor Josh
If they're going to have a potluck on the first Sunday of the month or the second Sunday of the month, those are silly stuff that we really shouldn't even be arguing about.
Pastor Josh
But when we have a church like Middletown Baptist church with so much diversity, I'm going to tell you, I've been to a lot of churches.
Pastor Josh
There's a lot of diversity at Middletown Baptist church, and we welcome that.
Pastor Josh
Sometimes as a pastor, there's a little bit more of a stress than that.
Pastor Josh
Okay, so people coming, you know, I was at a part of a church, or everyone was there.
Pastor Josh
They were Baptists since they were born.
Pastor Josh
Okay?
Pastor Josh
Everyone's Baptist is just Baptist.
Pastor Josh
Moved from this church to this church, and everyone's Baptist.
Pastor Josh
You know, we've had people coming from.
Pastor Josh
To our church from other denominations.
Pastor Josh
It's like, okay.
Pastor Josh
And that's scary for me as a pastor.
Pastor Josh
Someone comes into my front door and they're like, hey, we came from so and so church across town, or we came from so and so church, and I'm like, wait, they're not Baptist?
Pastor Josh
Oh, man, we got to deal with this.
Pastor Josh
And so immediately the struggle is, okay, we've got to make them Baptist before they can come into our church and fellowship.
Pastor Josh
But the truth is, we are a baptist church.
Pastor Josh
But the deeper purpose is being christians right now.
Pastor Josh
We're Baptist by conviction, but it's salvation and faith.
Pastor Josh
And then we show them scripturally why we have these personal convictions with the way that we do church.
Pastor Josh
And so what the difficulty is with that is that when we have a diverse church with different ages and different backgrounds and different cultures and different denominations, there is a challenge to have some conflict there.
Pastor Josh
Why do you have a problem with that?
Pastor Josh
You've heard that conversation.
Pastor Josh
But come on, let's be honest.
Pastor Josh
All of us have had conversations before with someone else, and they go, well, I was always taught that that was wrong.
Pastor Josh
Well, why would you have a problem with that?
Pastor Josh
Well, that's just what I grew up with.
Pastor Josh
And so instead of just pushing their conviction aside, there's dialogue that needs to happen.
Pastor Josh
And maybe that person can grow in that area, or maybe I can grow in that area because maybe they have something to teach me about why I'm overstepping in my legalism.
Pastor Josh
Because, most of you know, I've explained to you before, I'm a recovering pharisee, okay?
Pastor Josh
Each day I wake up and my flesh wants to judge and say, we have to be a certain way, a certain path.
Pastor Josh
And there's nothing wrong with that.
Pastor Josh
There's nothing wrong with having our baggage, because that's actually what we all have, whether we deny it or not.
Pastor Josh
We all have a preconceived bias when we come into a situation, but it's understanding that it's the love of Christ and the conviction of the spirit that should drive us and not our own personal preferences.
Pastor Josh
And so they go back and they say, hey, we're bringing stuff to you.
Pastor Josh
We're bringing this lesson to you.
Pastor Josh
And this message is, this lesson is so that the congregation here in Antioch can have unity.
Pastor Josh
So remember, it was James, the half brother of Jesus, who voiced the decision of the council.
Pastor Josh
But the unity behind the decision was one of several evidences that it was the work of the spirit.
Pastor Josh
How else could all of these really strong headed Menta in the Jerusalem council come together with this unity?
Pastor Josh
I mean, you had Peter in the room, you had Paul in the room.
Pastor Josh
You had Barnabas, you had James, you had all these other people, and they weren't yes men, okay?
Pastor Josh
They went out and did a lot of stuff.
Pastor Josh
So how could they have left?
Pastor Josh
With unity?
Pastor Josh
It's a work of the spirit.
Pastor Josh
Let me tell you, church unity is a work of the Holy Spirit.
Pastor Josh
That is not something that happens naturally.
Pastor Josh
It's actually the opposite.
Pastor Josh
Church unity is foreign to our flesh.
Pastor Josh
And the moment we divorce ourselves away from the spirit, when we're making decisions within the church, is the moment our church unity is severed.
Pastor Josh
Folks, some of the most dangerous places that we could ever be is a baptist business meeting.
Pastor Josh
I've seen some fur fly.
Pastor Josh
I've seen arrows flown across the room.
Pastor Josh
Not literally, hopefully.
Pastor Josh
You've never been to a place where literal arrows are flying.
Pastor Josh
But the truth is there are going to be conflicts within the church.
Pastor Josh
But there's a way to do that in the spirit of unity for the purpose of the gospel, that we can come together and say, you know what?
Pastor Josh
We can leave in fellowship because we're in this now.
Pastor Josh
Are there going to be?
Pastor Josh
Cause a lot of times people will say, well, I'm in unity, but the other person is not in unity.
Pastor Josh
All we can be concerned with is where we stand before God and how we represent the Lord in our conflicts.
Pastor Josh
And so in this case, there was unity.
Pastor Josh
And it was proven by the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of all these men, so much so that they could say that the decision was made in the cooperation of the Holy Spirit.
Pastor Josh
You can see that right there in scripture.
Pastor Josh
We can see that it actually says there that it was made in the Spirit.
Pastor Josh
We can see that he says in verse 40 28, that's right there.
Pastor Josh
It says, for it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things.
Pastor Josh
So they admit here that this was a decision made by the Holy Spirit, made by God.
Pastor Josh
And I'm going to tell you here at Middletown Baptist Church, and it might not always look this way, but the decisions that are made for this church are bathed in prayer.
Pastor Josh
Multiple people look at it.
Pastor Josh
Multiple people, I hope, will consult the Lord on this.
Pastor Josh
And the decisions that we make, in my opinion, are led by the Holy Spirit.
Pastor Josh
Now.
Pastor Josh
Now, there are certain times where someone might say, that can't be the Holy Spirit.
Pastor Josh
Come on.
Pastor Josh
What's going on?
Pastor Josh
We should have done this.
Pastor Josh
This or this.
Pastor Josh
I understand that.
Pastor Josh
And we're not perfect, and certainly we can be making mistakes within the ministry here in the church.
Pastor Josh
But I can tell you that the heartbeat of the church is that we follow the spirit.
Pastor Josh
There's a lot of things that my flesh wants to do.
Pastor Josh
There's a lot of things that I want to do in the concept of growing our church or changing things or moving here or doing that.
Pastor Josh
But, folks, if the Holy Spirit is not strongly convicting us, there is a time to say, Lord, it's not.
Pastor Josh
We believe that.
Pastor Josh
It's not your will.
Pastor Josh
We believe that.
Pastor Josh
This is our fleshly desire to do this.
Pastor Josh
Until the Lord makes it very clear in our lives, we have to be cautious.
Pastor Josh
We never want to get ahead of the Lord.
Pastor Josh
You can see story after story in scripture where individuals try to get ahead of God.
Pastor Josh
Let me give you one example.
Pastor Josh
Abraham.
Pastor Josh
Abraham was told he was going to have a son, and God was going to promise it to me.
Pastor Josh
And then he was like, well, God, I know he said it, but, like, let me try to help him out with this.
Pastor Josh
Let me try to get ahead of him.
Pastor Josh
And so let me go with Hagar.
Pastor Josh
Let me go do this.
Pastor Josh
That's sometimes what we can do in church.
Pastor Josh
Do we know that God wants this church to grow?
Pastor Josh
Yes.
Pastor Josh
But sometimes what can happen is we can say, you know what, God?
Pastor Josh
It's not happening at the speed I would want it to happen.
Pastor Josh
So let's get.
Pastor Josh
Let's get ahead of it.
Pastor Josh
There's an issue there, and so we have to be cautious with that.
Pastor Josh
So it was a spirit led decision.
Pastor Josh
And then he explains what that decision was in verse 29.
Pastor Josh
That you abstain from meats offered to idols and from blood and from things strangled, and from fornication, from which, if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well, fare ye well, meaning this is going to give you unity within the church.
Pastor Josh
This is going to.
Pastor Josh
This is going to demonstrate love to your fellow church member.
Pastor Josh
So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch, and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle or the letter.
Pastor Josh
So they're delivering this letter from the church at Jerusalem, which, when they read, they rejoiced for the consolation.
Pastor Josh
There was joy because they were encouraged by this letter.
Pastor Josh
You know, we would think, you know, the gentile Christians hear this message and go, what we have to follow these things that these jewish people know.
Pastor Josh
They received it, as it says here, they received it with joy and encouragement, which, when they read, had read.
Pastor Josh
They rejoiced for the consolation.
Pastor Josh
It means encouragement.
Pastor Josh
And so how relieved they were to see that the principle of grace had been preserved here.
Pastor Josh
They heard that they were saved by faith alone, and they were right with God after all, and they had a path to move forward in unison and in fellowship with each other.
Pastor Josh
So it says verse 33, and after they had tarried their space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles.
Pastor Josh
And so we see that the results of this unity is exhortation, consolation.
Pastor Josh
That's encouragement and peace.
Pastor Josh
Anytime we see the unity of the spirit within the church and the spirit's guidance in the church, we see comfort, we see exhortation.
Pastor Josh
So let's say it this way, encouragement, exhortation, and we see their peace.
Pastor Josh
They were let go in peace.
Pastor Josh
Now, these are all things that we should strive for in our church.
Pastor Josh
Exhortation is challenging each other, encouraging each other to love and good works.
Pastor Josh
The Bible says that's our job within the church, to spur each other on to love and good works.
Pastor Josh
You know, I think a lot of times we think in the very western mindset of, like, I'm an individual within the church, and I'm doing my thing here and everyone else is doing their thing, and, you know, just don't get in my way.
Pastor Josh
That's not what the Bible teaches.
Pastor Josh
The Bible teaches is that it is the role of the church to exhort each other to love and good works, to challenge each other to love and good works.
Pastor Josh
And that doesn't come with judgment.
Pastor Josh
That comes with, hey, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I'm doing this.
Pastor Josh
Hey, you want to come do this with me?
Pastor Josh
You want to pray along with me?
Pastor Josh
You want to do this Bible study with me?
Pastor Josh
You want to come share the gospel with me?
Pastor Josh
And it goes on from there.
Pastor Josh
And so we see that there's encouragement, we see that there's comfort, and we see that there's peace.
Pastor Josh
And then it says here, verse 34 notwithstanding, it pleased Silas to abide there still.
Pastor Josh
And so Silas actually stays there.
Pastor Josh
Silas says, you know what?
Pastor Josh
We're going to stay there.
Pastor Josh
And we actually see that Silas and Judas stay there, and so we see that they are going to stay, and, well, actually, actually, Silas stays and then Judas returns, leaving Silas and Antioch for the future ministry.
Pastor Josh
So Silas stays there longer.
Pastor Josh
And so they linger there for a time.
Pastor Josh
Both of them linger there for a time.
Pastor Josh
One leaves and then Silas stays.
Pastor Josh
And I think that we see the heart of Silas here as a heart of a pastor to encourage and to minister.
Pastor Josh
And that's really what the church should be.
Pastor Josh
The church should not just be a place where we give them the truth and we walk away.
Pastor Josh
How many times?
Pastor Josh
Maybe this hasn't been what you have seen, but we've had an event or an opportunity and we've preached the gospel to people and then we just let them go and figure it out on their own.
Pastor Josh
That's not what the church is for.
Pastor Josh
The church is there to be a long term partner with people.
Pastor Josh
So I give you the gospel.
Pastor Josh
But now, as the great commission says, I teach you the gospel.
Pastor Josh
I teach you what it means to obey Christ.
Pastor Josh
I teach you what it means to go through the difficulties.
Pastor Josh
You know what?
Pastor Josh
That's sometimes what happens in our society is we have a very transient society, meaning, like, we're here at a time until we need to move on and there's no investment.
Pastor Josh
The average lifespan of a person in ministry is like two and a half years.
Pastor Josh
You see that happening so often.
Pastor Josh
I mean, Middletown Baptist Church has been, has been graced with longevity, with pastors.
Pastor Josh
And I'm going to tell you, that's not the norm.
Pastor Josh
The norm is pastor comes in for two or three years, something more interesting comes along.
Pastor Josh
Or maybe God does call them away and we see just a lot of movement.
Pastor Josh
A lot of movement.
Pastor Josh
And the truth is, is that that isn't necessarily always what God's will is.
Pastor Josh
God's will is that there's long term investment with the fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
Pastor Josh
And so for me, I could say to you, hey, you know what?
Pastor Josh
Be faithful in the ministry.
Pastor Josh
But if I don't demonstrate to you what it means to be faithful in the ministry, how can you know what it means to be faithful in the ministry?
Pastor Josh
Hey, love your brother and sister in Christ.
Pastor Josh
But if I'm teaching you and demonstrating to you what loving my fellow brother and sister in Christ means, and I don't show that to you, you know, it would be like me, like, yeah, I don't know if some of you played sports or maybe you didn't play sports.
Pastor Josh
Maybe you had a, maybe you played an instrument or maybe you took up a hobby or something and you had a teacher, okay, or a coach.
Pastor Josh
And the coach came up to you and said, hey, let's use baseball as an example.
Pastor Josh
I grew up playing baseball.
Pastor Josh
I had a lot of coaches.
Pastor Josh
My personal coach, my one on one coach, used to play in the major leagues.
Pastor Josh
He played for the San Francisco Giants.
Pastor Josh
Coach, Coach Redmond.
Pastor Josh
He's an awesome guy.
Pastor Josh
He taught me a lot about baseball.
Pastor Josh
But he would sit there with me, and he would say, okay, when you hit the ball, you need to keep your eye on the ball.
Pastor Josh
You need to twist your hips.
Pastor Josh
You need to hit the ball like that.
Pastor Josh
And I would say, okay.
Pastor Josh
And I would do it wrong.
Pastor Josh
And guess what helped me?
Pastor Josh
When he would show me how to do it, he said, let me show you how it looks.
Pastor Josh
And then he would walk me through it.
Pastor Josh
He would show me every step of the way.
Pastor Josh
And that meant so much more for me than some of the coaches that I've had in my life, that, go, come on.
Pastor Josh
Go.
Pastor Josh
Hit the ball, son.
Pastor Josh
Well, how do I do that?
Pastor Josh
We'll just do it.
Pastor Josh
That doesn't help, right?
Pastor Josh
And so it's that demonstration of the actual principle being taught that helps out a lot more.
Pastor Josh
And so I would encourage you, as a church member, a ministry leader, possibly, if you want to be a discipler, demonstrate what it means to do the things that you're expecting your students to learn.
Pastor Josh
And so, you know, for me, there is that struggle, because I get to preach to you a lot.
Pastor Josh
And the truth is, is that a lot of times, people get the perception that pastors are perfect, and we expect you to have perfection.
Pastor Josh
But the truth is, is that we're, you know, when I preach to you, I'm preaching to myself.
Pastor Josh
Okay?
Pastor Josh
When I do my notes in the week, I can tell you some of the most convicting moments of life is when I'm sitting there planning my sermons, because I'm sitting there going, wow, it's gonna be a tough one for me to say, because I struggle with that today.
Pastor Josh
And so let me tell you, when I'm preaching, if, if, big, if.
Pastor Josh
If there's conviction in your heart out there from the preaching of the word, the conviction is also here.
Pastor Josh
I can tell you that.
Pastor Josh
And so, so what I want you to understand is that here, as we conclude this passage, that Silas wanted to stay.
Pastor Josh
He wanted to be planted in.
Pastor Josh
And so these certain Mendez who had come from Judea, they were teaching and preaching, it says there in verse 35, Paul also, and Barnabas continue in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord with many others also.
Pastor Josh
And so they had a desire not just to give them this message, but to teach and preach what the word of the Lord.
Pastor Josh
Paul didn't preach his way.
Pastor Josh
Paul didn't preach his opinions.
Pastor Josh
Paul preached the word of the Lord.
Pastor Josh
So because of the situation and because it was handled correctly, the christians here were strengthened, and the word of God pushed forward.
Pastor Josh
Let me tell you, one of the hindrances to the word of God being pushed forward is disunity within the church.
Pastor Josh
If the proper measures are taken to conflict, the word of God is pushed forward.
Pastor Josh
That's the best testimony when we can come in with a disagreement and leave in unity.
Pastor Josh
And that's what we see happening here.
Pastor Josh
The word of God.
Pastor Josh
That's where it ends.
Pastor Josh
The thought here ends with Paul and Barnabas.
Pastor Josh
And Silas taught and preached the word of the Lord with many others also.
Pastor Josh
And so Judas and Silas came.
Pastor Josh
These two men served well in Antioch.
Pastor Josh
And after visiting from Jerusalem, Judas returns, Silas stays.
Pastor Josh
We see for a time, Paul and Barnabas stay, and everything seems to be going well.
Pastor Josh
And I wish I could tell you that after that first conflict is fixed, then we're set.
Pastor Josh
I remember thinking, as a pastor, when's the first problem gonna drop, okay?
Pastor Josh
How are we gonna deal with this?
Pastor Josh
And I remember a problem was there.
Pastor Josh
And you know what?
Pastor Josh
I had a pastor friend one time tell me, you know what?
Pastor Josh
The problem that you're going through right now is not gonna be the problem you're dealing with next year, okay?
Pastor Josh
So in my mind, I'm thinking, well, that means that I'm gonna be, if I get rid of this problem in my life, if we deal with this problem properly, everything will be okay.
Pastor Josh
The issue is, is that I realized very quickly within ministry that after this problem is resolved, there's another problem that comes right in its place.
Pastor Josh
And so that's what we're gonna see here.
Pastor Josh
In acts, acts 15, it says in verse 36, I'm just gonna kind of whet your appetite for next week.
Pastor Josh
It says, oh, actually, not next week.
Pastor Josh
I'll tell you more about next week.
Pastor Josh
In two weeks says, in some days after, and we don't know how many days after, you could, you could have your gospel imagination and think, seven days, 30 days, 50 days.
Pastor Josh
But, and some days after, Paul said unto Barnabas, let us go again and visit another brethren.
Pastor Josh
And, hey, sounds great.
Pastor Josh
And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.
Pastor Josh
And Paul thought, not good to take them.
Pastor Josh
And so we're going to see that Paul and Barnabas have a conflict, and we're going to see how they deal with that conflict, and we're not going to see necessarily the resolution in this passage, we're going to see the first part of it.
Pastor Josh
We are going to see the resolution in another passage of scripture later on.
Pastor Josh
And we're going to see that some conflict doesn't get fixed over a Jerusalem council.
Pastor Josh
Some conflict takes years and humility and struggles to get fixed.
Pastor Josh
But what we're going to see here is that there always is a biblical resolution.
Pastor Josh
Sometimes it's not the resolution that we want.
Pastor Josh
Sometimes the resolution is, is that we can't be together.
Pastor Josh
The Bible says to live peaceably with all men if possible.
Pastor Josh
And so there is a conflict sometimes that we have to say, you know what?
Pastor Josh
There isn't unity here, and both sides have to be in agreement to unity or there isn't going to be unity.
Pastor Josh
And that's all the more reason why we have to take the responsibility for ourselves to do the right thing in our place.
Pastor Josh
And so, you know, sometimes it's the classic example of, well, I'm in the right place, but it's that person's fault, why I'm this way.
Pastor Josh
Well, you know what?
Pastor Josh
Get where you need to be.
Pastor Josh
And that's, and that's the best way.
Pastor Josh
That's the best remedy for peace and unity.
Pastor Josh
I heard recently there was this individual that they said, I really want to find a good spouse.
Pastor Josh
They were single.
Pastor Josh
It was a young man.
Pastor Josh
He says, you know, I want to find a good spouse.
Pastor Josh
I want to find a christian woman.
Pastor Josh
I want to find a lady who is faithful to me, loving, checking all the boxes.
Pastor Josh
And this guy said, okay, I've got some advice for you.
Pastor Josh
I want you to get a piece of paper out, and I want you to write down all the qualifications that you want for a wife.
Pastor Josh
And he's like, okay, okay.
Pastor Josh
So he wrote down 55 things down on the paper.
Pastor Josh
He was like, 55 qualifications that I want for a spouse.
Pastor Josh
And then he says, okay, write your name up at the top of that.
Pastor Josh
And so he write.
Pastor Josh
So he writes his name up, or actually, he said, write the name up at the top.
Pastor Josh
He said, I messed up the joke, or it's kind of a joke.
Pastor Josh
It's an analogy.
Pastor Josh
He says, write up at the top my future wife at the beginning.
Pastor Josh
And then at the end, when he wrote all the qualifications, he said, okay, now erase future wife and put your name in the blank, right?
Pastor Josh
If you want that type of spouse, you need to be that type of spouse in preparation for that, you know?
Pastor Josh
And so, so many times we say, okay, we want good church members in the church.
Pastor Josh
And so we want people that are dedicated.
Pastor Josh
We want people that are faithful.
Pastor Josh
We want people that are loving, forgiving.
Pastor Josh
Well, you know what?
Pastor Josh
If that's our goal for church members within Middletown Baptist Church, maybe we need to erase that and put our name in the blanket, say, that's what I need to strive for.
Pastor Josh
And I think that's something to think about when it comes to conflict and unity within the church.
Pastor Josh
Putting the responsibility on ourselves.
Pastor Josh
Putting the responsibility on ourselves as a qualification to be that church member.
Pastor Josh
Desiring unity.
Pastor Josh
Folks, I'm going to tell you, the average Christian within the church isn't dwelling on unity.
Pastor Josh
They're dwelling on what does this mean for me?
Pastor Josh
How can.
Pastor Josh
What can I get out of this?
Pastor Josh
And.
Pastor Josh
And that isn't.
Pastor Josh
I'm gonna speak in love to you tonight.
Pastor Josh
I hope I've proven to you that I love you.
Pastor Josh
The Bible doesn't say that that is the first and foremost priority within the church.
Pastor Josh
The first and foremost priority in the church is unity and edification and exhortation.
Pastor Josh
The Bible says that the gifts of the spirit that are given to us are not for our own good.
Pastor Josh
It's for the good of others within the church.
Pastor Josh
That shows you right there where the priority is.
Pastor Josh
The priority is others.
Pastor Josh
The priority is Jesus others.
Pastor Josh
And then you.
Pastor Josh
You heard that acronym, Joy?
Pastor Josh
Jesus others.
Pastor Josh
You.
Pastor Josh
It's not.
Pastor Josh
It's not about you others and then Jesus.
Pastor Josh
It's.
Pastor Josh
It needs to be flipped.
Pastor Josh
And so I would encourage you to think about that within the church.
Pastor Josh
I would encourage myself to think about that within the church.
Pastor Josh
This isn't about getting what I want.
Pastor Josh
It's about getting what the Lord wants and how I can love and.
Pastor Josh
And sacrifice for other people.
Pastor Josh
And that's how we have unity.
Pastor Josh
That's how we can resolve issues within the church.
Pastor Josh
Well, you.
Pastor Josh
I can't believe that your family goes here and does this.
Pastor Josh
Okay, well, let's do a real life example.
Pastor Josh
I've got.
Pastor Josh
I've got, like, seven minutes here to the end of the hour.
Pastor Josh
Let's do a real life experience.
Pastor Josh
Okay?
Pastor Josh
So I've got brother a over here and brother b.
Pastor Josh
Brother a and brother b, brother a goes, I can't believe that your family does this.
Pastor Josh
Okay?
Pastor Josh
We don't do that in brother a family.
Pastor Josh
Brother B, you're a sinner.
Pastor Josh
Okay, well, if he has a problem with brother b, his issue should be, hey, brother a goes, talk to brother b, and we talk this out.
Pastor Josh
Why would you do that?
Pastor Josh
Can you show me in the word of God, why that's wrong?
Pastor Josh
Why that's right.
Pastor Josh
Whatever the problem comes is when brother a goes over here and says to brother c, can you believe what brother b does with his family?
Pastor Josh
Oh, you know what?
Pastor Josh
He's just.
Pastor Josh
He's a second class citizen because he does that.
Pastor Josh
But pray for him.
Pastor Josh
The problem is, is now brother a has one issue here with brother b, and now he's created another issue with c.
Pastor Josh
And now there's an issue between a and c and c and B.
Pastor Josh
And c and b would have never had an issue.
Pastor Josh
Right?
Pastor Josh
You see how that goes now?
Pastor Josh
And then c over here goes to, I'm gonna go over here to d.
Pastor Josh
And then D has.
Pastor Josh
You can see how that it's a ripple effect and a poor poison can spread.
Pastor Josh
But if a says, you know what?
Pastor Josh
Brother B has his own convictions, I'm not going to judge him for that.
Pastor Josh
I won't.
Pastor Josh
I don't.
Pastor Josh
And then brother B could say, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I didn't know that you had a problem with me going here.
Pastor Josh
Well, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I don't need to do that.
Pastor Josh
Or maybe I won't do that around you, or we won't go there and do that together.
Pastor Josh
Do you see how it's that deference deferring because of my love?
Pastor Josh
It's not pride.
Pastor Josh
It's not, I get to do this.
Pastor Josh
I have the right to do this.
Pastor Josh
I will be willing to die to myself so that that person can be edified.
Pastor Josh
Now, there's some silliness with that.
Pastor Josh
Like, sometimes we can get silly within the church, okay?
Pastor Josh
And the truth is, is that when I'm thinking about myself and myself alone, I've got more issues that are going to come because everything's an offense to me.
Pastor Josh
But when I'm thinking about others, I don't take things as personally.
Pastor Josh
Hey, you know what?
Pastor Josh
Maybe they're having a bad day.
Pastor Josh
I can tell you there have been times where I have had a tough day, and in no way was I trying to be rude to somebody, but I came across as rude.
Pastor Josh
You know what?
Pastor Josh
And so what I need to do is I need to assume that in my brother or sister, okay?
Pastor Josh
The bible says in one corinthians, chapter 13 that true agape love does not assume the worst, does not assume evil.
Pastor Josh
What happens within church?
Pastor Josh
Is this, okay, walking out, someone else says something to me or has a bad response.
Pastor Josh
Ugh, they must hate me.
Pastor Josh
You know what?
Pastor Josh
I knew they didn't like me.
Pastor Josh
I saw that from the very beginning.
Pastor Josh
When they started coming into church, I knew they had a problem with me from the very beginning.
Pastor Josh
I bet you they're talking about me right now.
Pastor Josh
And the truth is, is that maybe they are.
Pastor Josh
Maybe.
Pastor Josh
But the initial assumption should not be that that is the case.
Pastor Josh
That's biblical love.
Pastor Josh
Getting to the bottom of it.
Pastor Josh
Now, the way you get to the bottom of it is go right up to him and say, hey, you know what?
Pastor Josh
You did that to me.
Pastor Josh
Is that.
Pastor Josh
Is that an issue?
Pastor Josh
Like, did I do something?
Pastor Josh
I apologize if I did, and then go from there, and then the reality will come forward.
Pastor Josh
Yeah, I do have a problem with you, and I don't like that you do that.
Pastor Josh
Okay?
Pastor Josh
Now we go from that to something else.
Pastor Josh
Now we go to conflict resolution.
Pastor Josh
Okay?
Pastor Josh
And so that's.
Pastor Josh
That's how we have to go through these things.
Pastor Josh
And so it's like what we talked about this morning.
Pastor Josh
Think biblically about something.
Pastor Josh
See it through the lens of scripture.
Pastor Josh
You ever heard the statement, rose colored glasses?
Pastor Josh
Like, you put red glasses on, everything's red.
Pastor Josh
Okay?
Pastor Josh
See, have your gospel glasses.
Pastor Josh
Have your Bible glasses.
Pastor Josh
And so see everything through the lens of scripture and say, you know what?
Pastor Josh
It's not about me.
Pastor Josh
I am not the protagonist of scripture.
Pastor Josh
Okay?
Pastor Josh
A lot of times, we think we are the main character of scripture.
Pastor Josh
And there's a lot of churches out there that preach that.
Pastor Josh
You are the main character.
Pastor Josh
Right at the end of the day, you are the main character.
Pastor Josh
It's all about you.
Pastor Josh
This lesson's about you today.
Pastor Josh
And the lesson can apply to me, but I'm not the main character of scripture.
Pastor Josh
All scripture is given by inspiration of God.
Pastor Josh
And we know that it's profitable for all these things in my life.
Pastor Josh
But scripture is not.
Pastor Josh
I'm not the centerpiece of scripture.
Pastor Josh
Jesus is.
Pastor Josh
We sang a song about it tonight.
Pastor Josh
Jesus is that sure foundation.
Pastor Josh
Jesus is the centerpiece.
Pastor Josh
And so when we fight, you know what the Bible says when we fight in the midst of our church, when we struggle within the midst of our church, we're actually offending the Lord.
Pastor Josh
We're actually causing issues for his kingdom to move forward.
Pastor Josh
Not my kingdom.
Pastor Josh
My kingdom means nothing.
Pastor Josh
My kingdom is zero, zilch, nada.
Pastor Josh
Like, I don't have a kingdom.
Pastor Josh
And even if I think I have a kingdom, that kingdom is not going to last.
Pastor Josh
Think about all the dictators that have passed throughout history, okay?
Pastor Josh
All of them have died.
Pastor Josh
All their kingdoms have fallen.
Pastor Josh
Okay?
Pastor Josh
Think about the greatest ones.
Pastor Josh
And the truth is that our kingdoms don't matter.
Pastor Josh
And so if we see it from that perspective, we can leave with unity.
Pastor Josh
So how does liberty, law, and love mingle together?
Pastor Josh
Well, the law is given to us to show us that none of us can meet God's standard.
Pastor Josh
It shows us the heart of God.
Pastor Josh
It shows us how we can follow him to the best of our ability, but it also shows us that we need Christ.
Pastor Josh
And so liberty is that I'm saved from the bondage of law and I'm now in grace, and I can live with freedom to know that I am going to fail.
Pastor Josh
But my failure is ultimately swallowed up in Christ's victory.
Pastor Josh
And so that's my liberty.
Pastor Josh
But my love says this.
Pastor Josh
Okay, I'm not going to extend the law to someone, but I'm also not going to extend my liberty to a point where I limit them in their specific spiritual walk.
Pastor Josh
And so are there things that you can do as a Christian?
Pastor Josh
Yes, you have the freedom to do it.
Pastor Josh
Paul says it, all things are lawful, but not all things are expedient.
Pastor Josh
Now, all things are beneficial for your christian walk.
Pastor Josh
So if you come up to me and you say, pastor, can I do this?
Pastor Josh
You know, like, theologically, my answer to you is, yeah, you can.
Pastor Josh
You had the freedom to choose whatever.
Pastor Josh
Now some of your choices are going to have really bad consequences.
Pastor Josh
You can choose your sin, but you can't choose your outcome.
Pastor Josh
But what I will say is this.
Pastor Josh
Yeah, you had the freedom to do that.
Pastor Josh
Well, am I sinning?
Pastor Josh
Well, I can't show you a chapter, verse that you're sinning, but let me ask you this question.
Pastor Josh
Is this beneficial for your spiritual growth?
Pastor Josh
Is this going to hinder your spiritual growth?
Pastor Josh
Some things are just going to be neutral, like, okay, me going to McDonald's or Burger King today.
Pastor Josh
Okay, is that neither one?
Pastor Josh
Some of you might say, well, it might hinder you in other ways, but the idea is, is that there are some things in our life that aren't going to necessarily edify us and build us up to Christ, but there are going to be some things that do pull us down.
Pastor Josh
There are going to be some things that hold us back from our spiritual growth.
Pastor Josh
So that first check is this.
Pastor Josh
Is it expedient for my spiritual walk?
Pastor Josh
And then that second check, is this.
Pastor Josh
Is it edifying to the saints?
Pastor Josh
First Corinthians 1023.
Pastor Josh
Is it edifying?
Pastor Josh
Is it building up other christians?
Pastor Josh
Or is my decision in my freedom gonna tear somebody else down?
Pastor Josh
Well, you know what?
Pastor Josh
They need to grow up.
Pastor Josh
Yes, they do.
Pastor Josh
Okay, maybe they do.
Pastor Josh
Maybe they need to mature.
Pastor Josh
But who is going to demonstrate to them that spiritual maturity to get to that place?
Pastor Josh
And so that's where it's at.
Pastor Josh
That's where our christian life is.
Pastor Josh
And so, as a servant of the living God.
Pastor Josh
We have an opportunity to exercise our liberty, but not at the sake of hindering others in the process.
Pastor Josh
And so I know that's difficult because it would be a lot easier, it would be a lot more easy for me to say, hey, guys, if you're a christian, just follow these rules.
Pastor Josh
I want it to be that way.
Pastor Josh
I want it to be where I can give you a list of rules.
Pastor Josh
And if you follow all these rules, you'll be a perfect Christianity.
Pastor Josh
But even if I give you the list of rules and you check your box, it's not going to be where your heart is in the right place.
Pastor Josh
It could be, but it might not be.
Pastor Josh
We can all follow a list of rules.
Pastor Josh
And so the christian life is not about list following.
Pastor Josh
You say what?
Pastor Josh
I've never heard this before.
Pastor Josh
Okay.
Pastor Josh
The christian life is not about list following.
Pastor Josh
The christian life is about following Jesus.
Pastor Josh
And our hearts change to where many of the things that we do because of our love for him do align with that.
Pastor Josh
Listen, not going to want to say these things anymore.
Pastor Josh
I'm going to love my neighbor.
Pastor Josh
I am going to live a life of forgiveness and grace.
Pastor Josh
But it's not because I'm checking a box to get closer to God.
Pastor Josh
It's because he's already shown me the love and I'm reciprocating that.
Pastor Josh
And that's the natural change that happens.
Pastor Josh
Or let me say it this way, better the supernatural change that happens in my heart with a transition for loving myself to loving God.
Pastor Josh
And so a lot of people struggle with that.
Pastor Josh
But Romans, chapter six, Paul addresses that.
Pastor Josh
Cause Paul gets done with preaching all about grace, and then he goes, oh, wait, they're gonna think that they can just abuse grace.
Pastor Josh
So what does he do?
Pastor Josh
He says, guys, don't continue to sin, that grace just abounds.
Pastor Josh
Don't abuse grace.
Pastor Josh
He says, God forbid, why would you wanna go back to that sin that God saved you from?
Pastor Josh
And so when you understand God's grace, you don't wanna abuse it.
Pastor Josh
When I was a young Christian and when someone really sat down with me and explained to me grace, I was like, wait, that means that I can just go sin and ask for forgiveness?
Pastor Josh
And they're like, no, that's not what that's saying there.
Pastor Josh
You don't understand grace yet.
Pastor Josh
So when you grow in grace, you grow in your understanding of, yes, you do have the freedom and God's forgiveness is mighty and vast, but you don't want to do that anymore.
Pastor Josh
You don't want to do that anymore.
Pastor Josh
It's kind of like this.
Pastor Josh
I'll end with this.
Pastor Josh
When I was growing up with my parents in the house, they had rules, okay?
Pastor Josh
They had things that they expected me to do and not to do.
Pastor Josh
And I felt like it was oppressive.
Pastor Josh
Come on, guys, all my friends are doing this and I can't do this.
Pastor Josh
And so now I catch myself.
Pastor Josh
And the reason why I obeyed them, I'm just gonna tell you the reason.
Pastor Josh
When I was a little kid and I obeyed my parents was not because I love them, because I feared my dad.
Pastor Josh
Okay?
Pastor Josh
Just gonna be honest.
Pastor Josh
I feared him.
Pastor Josh
It's like, dad, I do not want to get dad mad at me.
Pastor Josh
But as I grew, I started to understand that, that discipline.
Pastor Josh
Cause he used to tell me this thing, son, this hurts me more than it hurts you.
Pastor Josh
I'm like, no way.
Pastor Josh
This is so wrong.
Pastor Josh
But as I saw his discipline over the years, I saw that it was out of love.
Pastor Josh
So then after a time, it wasn't so much that I would obey him out of fear, it was out of love.
Pastor Josh
You know what?
Pastor Josh
There was a time where I got stronger than my dad.
Pastor Josh
It's like now I can overpower him and I can stop him from getting.
Pastor Josh
But then I was like, you know what?
Pastor Josh
No.
Pastor Josh
Now is the time where I don't want to do that.
Pastor Josh
Now's the time where I say, dad, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I understand what you're saying.
Pastor Josh
And then there was a time when I turned 18, 1920, and I'm not under my dad's rules.
Pastor Josh
And now I'm saying, you know what?
Pastor Josh
He's talking in the back of my mind and I'm going, yeah, this would not be wise for me to do.
Pastor Josh
And so then it became something that was ingrained in me and it was something that I did because I love my dad and I respected my dad.
Pastor Josh
And that's that progression of maturity in my life where that's the same thing as a Christian.
Pastor Josh
When we start out, it's like God's going to strike me down.
Pastor Josh
And then it gets to the point where knowing that he's not going to strike me down, but then knowing that he expects this out of me, out of love, and he disciplines me out of love, and therefore he doesn't enjoy doing that.
Pastor Josh
And let me tell you, the moment that I really realized that my dad did not enjoy disciplining me, when I had to start disciplining my children, that's when I'm like, oh, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I know what he was saying now.
Pastor Josh
I totally understand this now, but I want to discipline them because I love them.
Pastor Josh
And that's the process.
Pastor Josh
God disciplines us and guides us and corrects us because he loves us.
Pastor Josh
And it is that love that we can understand in our lives.
Pastor Josh
And so we'll end with that.
Pastor Josh
Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist church podcast.
Pastor Josh
I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you.
Pastor Josh
If you would like to find out more information about our church or this sermon, you can find us@middletownbaptistchurch.org or find us on Facebook or YouTube.
Pastor Josh
You can also email me directly@joshmissaroiddletownbaptastchurch.com.
Pastor Josh
if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow along for future podcasts and updates.
Pastor Josh
Thank you so much.
Pastor Josh
God bless.
Pastor Josh
Have a wonderful day.
Listen On
New to Middletown Baptist Church?
Here are some great episodes to start with. Or, check out episodes by topic.
