Let's turn to the Heidelberg Catechism, either in the Book of Forms and Prayers, page 222, or in the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, page 881, to Lord's Day 21. And we're working our way through this Lord's Day. Last week we looked at the Holy Catholic Church, the Zion, the city of God, of which we are by grace members of. Next, Lord's Day, God willing. Our brother Michael will speak regarding the forgiveness of sins. And this evening I want to speak on the communion of the saints and read question and answer 55. What do you understand by the communion of saints? First, the believers, one and all, as members of Christ the Lord, have communion with Him and share in all His treasures and gifts. Second, that each member should consider it a duty to use these gifts readily and joyfully for the service and enrichment of the other members. And then if you turn in the word of God to the letter of Peter, the first letter of Peter chapter four, You'll find that on page 1,296, 1,296. And we'll start, or I'll start reading at verse seven and read to the end of verse 11. And the sermon will be on verse nine in particular. The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace. whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies, in order that, in everything, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. That's the reading of God's word. Nearly every Lord's Day at Trinity, we confess that we believe in the communion of the saints. You might have noticed that we didn't do that this evening because it's not part of the Nicene Creed as it is a part of the Apostles' Creed. To be a saint, that is, to be one of God's holy ones, one needs to be brought to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only the Lord Jesus Christ who is able to take sinners and by his grace transform them so that they are the holy ones of God, his chosen saints. But because in salvation we are brought into union with the Lord Jesus Christ, that also means that we are brought into communion with all others who have been brought into union with Jesus Christ. That is, there's a deep bond between the believer and Christ, but there's also a deep bond between believers because of our common unity in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so when we talk about the communion of the saints, we first have to talk about the union of the saints with the Lord Jesus. In fact, as Philip Ryken noted, you can't even spell communion without the word union. And so the communion of the saints is something very precious that is built upon the foundation of the work of Jesus Christ and the work of the Spirit in bringing people into union with Christ and therefore into union with one another. But what does the communion of the saints look like? Well, it is a sharing of what we have received from Christ with one another. And you can see that in what the Apostle Peter says here in 1 Peter 4, verse 10 in particular, as each has received a gift. So in union with Christ, we receive his graces, but also his gifts. As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace. And so he outlines a couple of those gifts in verse 11, the speaking gift, the serving gift. So we're to receive these gifts from Christ and then employ them for the blessing of one another. And the one gift that I wanna look at this evening is the gift of hospitality. As the Apostle Peter says in verse nine, show hospitality to one another without grumbling. Well, first of all, what is hospitality? Well, if you look in the New Testament, you'll find it in its various forms about six times. And if you look at the Greek word behind the English word hospitality, you'll know that it is a compound word. Now, our children know what a compound word is. It's a word that's made up of two or more words. So the word butterfly, for instance, is a compound word made up of butter and fly. Well, hospitality is like that too. The first Greek word that is part of it is philo, which means love. And then the second word to make up the compound word is xenos, which means stranger. You might have heard of people who have xenophobia, that is fear of strangers. And so hospitality is literally love of strangers. This is why, for example, when you turn to Hebrews chapter 13, you can see how the translators translated the word hospitality the way they did. Listen to what they say in Hebrews 13 verse two. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware. Now it is simply proper to say, do not neglect to show hospitality. But because in showing hospitality, we might entertain angels unaware that as strangers, the translators have made that explicit, to show hospitality, to show love to strangers. That's what hospitality means, to show love to strangers. But it means more than that, and you can see that from what the Apostle Peter says here in 1 Peter 4. He says, for example, that we are to show hospitality to one another without grumbling. Now, it's perfectly possible that he was thinking about the vast Christian church. There was a lot of movement within the Roman Empire. People from other cities and congregations would travel, and they might end up in your congregation on a Sunday morning or a Sunday evening, and you would not know that person. And Peter is saying, when you see someone who's a stranger coming to your congregation, Show love to that person. And so it's possible that Peter is thinking about strangers, people that we don't know. But I think the fact that he says that we're to show hospitality to one another presumes that we're also to show hospitality not just to people we don't know, but also to people whom we do know. We're to show hospitality to members of our own congregation, those who worship together with us, the one true and living God. And so you can say that hospitality is to show love both to strangers and to fellow believers. But how do you define hospitality? How do you show what it is? How are we to show love to strangers and to fellow believers within the Christian family? Well, I think if you look at Scripture, we can glean some things from Scripture regarding hospitality. The first thing is that we're to share our resources in a relationship that expresses love. The Apostle Paul tells the Christians how to act towards one another in Romans. He says that love is to be genuine. We're to love one another with brotherly affection. We're to outdo one another in showing honor. He says we are to contribute to the needs of the saints and pursue hospitality. And then later in 1 Timothy 5 verse 9, the Apostle Paul says that widows ought to have a reputation for good works. And that reputation ought to include not only washing the feet of the saints, but also showing hospitality to them. And of course, we have seen hospitality out throughout the Scriptures as you read through it. You might know that story in Genesis 18, as Abraham is sitting out in front of his tent in the heat of the day, and he lifts up his eyes, and three men were standing in front of him. This is an appearance of God coming to meet with Abraham. And Abraham shows hospitality to them. He runs inside the tent. He tells Sarah to quickly make bread, to knead the flour, to make cakes. And then he takes a calf from the herd, and that's quickly prepared as well. And then Abraham serves these three men. He shows hospitality to them and then notice that he stands by them while they ate. He shared his resources with them. Or think about that Shunammite couple. You remember that? They're spoken of in 2 Kings chapter four. They hosted Elisha, the prophet, whenever he came through. And the wife said to her husband, why don't we provide a room for this man? He's a holy man of God. He's always passing our way. So let's provide him a room and a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there. That too is an expression of hospitality, sharing the resources God has given with someone else as an expression of love. But what does it mean for us in our day and age? And I think as I struggled through this over the last week, it's difficult to be dogmatic as to what hospitality actually is. It can look different to us as different individuals. We've all received different gifts and different resources. We have different strengths. We have different situations in life. Some of us are empty nesters. Some of us still have young children in the home. Some of us are elderly. And so it seems to me that hospitality, though there's something fundamental about it, it will take on different shades and shapes within the congregation of God's people. But it does seem that what is fundamental in hospitality is the welcoming of people into your lives and sharing yourself with them and your resources with them as an expression of love towards them. And so, for instance, opening your home for overnight guests so that they might stay. We've become so used to hoteling it. I have mixed feelings of the current practice we have as Christians to use hotels for the delegates of classes. Why couldn't we, as I think we used to do in the past, why couldn't we be hosted by members of the congregation? It would give the congregation an opportunity to serve and to be blessed in serving the people of God. And I understand the weariness of all day being in meetings and then having to go to your host's family and having to engage with them and the weariness that comes from that. But certainly, it would be worth it, wouldn't it? for the congregation to be a blessing to the delegates, for the delegates to return that blessing with fellowship in the Christian home. So that's an opportunity to host people in your home, to provide overnight shelter and care for them. Or think about this, inviting your people for food or fellowship. I think that's an expression of hospitality. And it seems to me that as I read through the Scriptures and I understand the grace of God to sinners and to see hospitality as a reflection of our God, it certainly does mean fellowship, food, sharing of resources as an expression of love. Or think about those who, in our congregation, who open their family and their home for children, like those who are involved in the safe families. That's a good hospitality avenue. But then there are other things that are similar to this, those who prepare meals and who serve meals for streets alive, those who welcome people in the foyer after the service or when they see someone new in their pew or in front of them making an effort to engage with them and to tell them how delighted they are to see them in the church. Or to think about if you can't have people in your home, then to visit those others in their homes showing love. I'm sure that our elderly members would love to have a visit, would welcome the conversation and the refreshment. And if you do, may I encourage you to pray with elderly people, particularly those who are alone. My mother is, or my mother-in-law is an aged woman, and every time my wife goes there, she's asked, will you please pray? Because my mother-in-law lives alone, and she always has to pray alone. And it is so refreshing and encouraging if someone prays with her and for her. You can be a part of the meal train. You can offer to do laundry for young mothers. You can provide baking for those who are having a spade of visitors. Use your resources to show love to others. strangers, and to those who are familiar as well. Hospitality is an expression of love, using your resources, sharing them and yourself with other people. Second thing I want to point out is that this is a command. The Apostle Peter says it very clearly, that we are to show hospitality to one another without grumbling. The Apostle Paul in Romans 12 says it too, that we are to pursue hospitality. It's not just do it if it fits, but pursue hospitality. This is something that all believers in the church are expected to do. This is what it meant to live a Christian life. How did widows get a good reputation or a reputation for good works? One of the ways is by showing hospitality. All believers should harness their gifts and their resources for the blessing of others. In fact, the New Testament is so convinced of the importance of hospitality. that in 1 Timothy 3 and in Titus 1, this is one of the qualifications for officers in Christ's church. Listen to what the Apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy chapter 3. He says, if anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. Would we ever nominate a man who was a drunkard or violent? Of course not. Ought we to nominate a man who is not hospitable? The apostle Paul says it as well in Titus 1 verse 6, as he speaks to Titus about the men that he should choose, appoint as elders in every town, he says there that an overseer must be must be above reproach. The husband of one wife, his children are believers, not open to the charge of debauchery. An overseer as God's steward must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. And so the church ought to have as her leaders men who are known to have an open home for the food and fellowship of the saints, both strangers and familiars. They are the ones who ought to be in the foyer on the Lord's Day, engaging with visitors and with their fellow Christians. they ought to be sharing their lives with the other members of the church. That's in fact why the Apostle Paul is so insistent on the need for hospitality, because he understands that biblical leadership within the church is not just someone standing and spouting off biblical truths. but someone doing that in the context of relationship. Listen to what the Apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians chapter two. He says, so being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God, but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. That's the context in which we serve as leaders in Christ's church, sharing not only the truth of the gospel, but sharing our very lives. The apostle Paul says elsewhere that he endures all things for the sake of the elect, that he's happy to be spending himself for others. That's the true heart of Christian leadership, and it is demonstrated most clearly in hospitality when an elder shares his home and shares his resources and shares himself for the blessing of God's people. And it's not just that elders are to be hospitable. This is part and parcel of the work of the diaconate too. Although if you read through the qualifications for deacons, it doesn't say that they ought to be hospitable, but we know that they ought to be because their office arose precisely because the Grecian widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. That is, God commanded the apostles to establish the office of deacon in order to promote hospitality in the church. They were the ones who were to oversee the serving of the tables, the tangible expressions of love to those within the congregation of the people of God. Bill Buchenstein, who's a United Reformed minister in Michigan, wrote a chapter in a book that the elders read some time ago, The Elders and Deacons. And this is what he says about hospitality. Elders and deacons are called to be leaders in hospitality. That's how important this gift is to foster the communion of the saints in the congregation of God's people. So thirdly and finally, what is the blessing of hospitality? Well, there's always blessing, isn't there? if we do what God calls us to do. This is what Psalm 112 verse 1 says, blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments. And so it's always good to do what God calls us to do. If He says that we ought to do hospitality, then we ought to make every effort to do hospitality, and the blessing is in the obedience. But God understands our weaknesses. He remembers that we are dust. He knows how frail we are. And so he often promises us gracious rewards. If we are hospitable, there's blessing for us in this life and in the life to come. And so let's think about a few of those. There's great joy in the fellowship of the saints. Sharing your resources in your home with brothers and sisters opens up refreshing and encouraging discussions about the grace of God in one another's lives. It is fascinating to be able to speak with brothers and sisters and to trace together with them the hand of God, the way he brought them out of darkness and into the light, or the way that he blessed them in their lives and directed them in this and that way so that they are where they are now. And it's so important for us to get to know one another, not just for our sake and our refreshment, but so that, as Peter says in 1 Peter 4, an all so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. And I would say that in a congregation, particularly of this size, where we don't easily get to know one another, we have to be all the more deliberate about welcoming people into our homes and sharing our resources with them. Sometimes you hear the complaint that this is too big of a church, we need to split into smaller churches. Well, perhaps that might be the case. But until then, this is the congregation the Lord has placed you in. Make every effort, show hospitality to one another because it is in part through hospitality and the joy of mutual fellowship that a congregation this large shrinks in size so that we can together glorify our God. Hospitality also serves the saints. There's an epidemic of loneliness. Some Christians feel forgotten. They have no connections. They come here on Lord's Day morning, sometimes only on the Lord's Day morning, but they have no real friendships, no real people to engage with, to help them, to strengthen them. I'm struck by what the Apostle Paul said to Philemon, just to listen to this. He says, I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers. Why? For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. I'm sure that has been your experience. You've been to someone's house, you've shared a meal together, you've had coffee and some delicious thing together, and you've left after an evening of conversation, and you've left refreshed and encouraged. and strengthened with zeal to be more faithful in your service and devotion to the Lord. You felt the love and the concern of a brother and sister. And what a joy it is to be the instrument of grace to those who are lonely, forgotten, or who feel forgotten, who are weak and struggling within the body of Christ. And then if you show hospitality to strangers, it is possible that God might use you as an instrument to lead that person to Christ. Every year or so, I text a fellow in the UK. He had contacted the church somehow, they weren't believers, and we had him to our home for dinner. It was the first time, he said, it was the first time that he ever sat around a table with people having a meal. He grew up in a dysfunctional home. He said that Christmas day, his mother would make all the trimmings, place it on the table, and everyone would take their food, whatever they wanted, and then go to their bedrooms and eat there. He never knew what it was to be a part of a community. And in the kindness of the Lord, the Lord brought this man to salvation in Jesus Christ, in part, I'm thinking, because of the love that we could show to this stranger, to Michael and Marian, as an expression of the kindness of God to us. So there's those blessings. It's a good thing for your children. The interesting people your children will meet around your table, the things they will learn about others and about the world and about God as you discuss together with these brothers and sisters or strangers. But there is another blessing that I want to commend to you. You know how encouraging it is when you see Christ's likeness appear in your life. When you see that your life is being shaped more and more so that you are looking increasingly like your Savior. I mean, that's what sanctification is, of course. That's what the Spirit of God does. He imprints Christ's life on top of your life so that you look more and more like your Savior. And Christ's likeness in your own life will certainly reveal itself with a hospitality, with a hospitable heart. Because Christ is nothing if he is not hospitable. God is generously hospitable to his people. You can see this, right, in the Garden of Eden. I've often been struck by the fact that God created man on the sixth day after he had made everything else. Everything was properly prepared for Adam and Eve. God had given them everything their hearts could desire. He had given them the trees for food, and on top of that, the trees were pleasant to look at. Everything they needed was there because God was a hospitable God. And then you see that same attitude expressed. Deuteronomy 10 verse 18, the Lord loves the strangers, giving them food and clothing. That's why the Israelites were to be kind to strangers, were not to take advantage of those who were visiting within their country, because God had been kind to them. They once were strangers in Egypt, and God had loved them, and so they were to love the strangers. And then think of the great salvation that is ours in Jesus Christ. the great thing that our Lord Jesus has done for us. And think about how that salvation is portrayed so often in the scripture. Already in Isaiah 25, salvation is portrayed as a banquet with the best of meats and the finest of wines. And then you come into the New Testament and you have Jesus describing the kingdom of God like a king who invited guests to his banquet. The Lord Jesus himself provided bread and fish to the hungry crowds. The Lord Jesus is the one who invites us to sit at his table where he feeds us with himself in the broken bread and in the poured out wine. This is why I think hospitality particularly has that kind of focus of food and fellowship because that's how salvation is described. And we are to be imitators of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the one, the psalmist says, who prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemies. And so as God has been hospitable to us, we ought to be hospitable to one another. As he has shown us love, we ought to show love as well. And think of the great cost at which our Lord Jesus bought us this feast. the alienation. from His loved ones, the rejection by His disciples, by His own people. I mean, isn't it a striking thing when you think of the trial of the Lord Jesus Christ, that here's Herod, I mean, here's Pilate. He's a stranger. He doesn't know Jesus Christ. He's not connected with Christ in any way, and he's the one who's putting the paws on Christ's crucifixion. Well, Christ's own dear people, the ones He came to save are the ones who clamor for His death. That's what our Lord Jesus embraced. And then to bear the sins of His people and to take upon Himself the wrath and curse of God. It was at great cost that our Lord Jesus Christ showed hospitality to His people. And it's a wonderful thing when by the Spirit of God we are able to see this same attitude worked in our lives, a willingness to spend and bespend, a willingness to deny ourselves for the sake of others, to serve one another, to show hospitality, and to do so at a cost. And it will be a cost. Of course it will be a cost. There's the cost, of course, of food, of time, of energy. Sometimes our children will have to give up their beds because we have visitors staying overnight, and we need to share with those in need. I think this is why the Apostle Peter, when he says that we're to show hospitality, says that we are to do so without grumbling. because there's a cost, it goes against our nature. We are tending towards self-centeredness and hospitality brings us out of ourselves so that we serve one another. But what a privilege it is to be like our Savior, to be God-like, to welcome strangers and fellow Christians and show love to them. as God in his kindness has shown love to us. I know what it's like to hear one's duty in a sermon. I know what it's like to preach one's duty in a sermon and then to forget it by the time we arrive home. So let me urge you to speak to your family and take deliberate steps to foster the communion of the saints here at Trinity by showing hospitality to one another without grumbling. Let's pray together. Oh Lord, our Father in heaven, how good and kind you have been to us. How hospitable, both in creation and in recreation, you have showered us with enormous blessings, unimaginable graces. And we thank You for that. We thank You that our Lord Jesus Christ has shared Himself with us, that He loved us and He gave Himself for us in order that we might have fellowship with Him. We thank You for the expectation of hospitality in the kingdom to come, in the new heavens and the new earth when everything that so beclouds our lives will be removed. and when we will enter into eternal joy and unending happiness in the fellowship with God and with one another. So we pray that our congregation will be an outpost of heaven. that we will see that kind of communion of saints and joy and delight in imitating You so that we would be a blessing to one another and in blessing each other be blessed by You as well. We thank You that all Your commands come with encouragements, and come with the strength that you provide so that we might be faithful. So bless us, our gracious God, we pray, and all, so that you may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. For Jesus' sake, amen.