We want to give our attention now to an exposition of the scriptures. In a moment, we'll turn our attention to Matthew's gospel. For the last time here in the Olivet Discourse, here on this day that is known widely as Easter Sunday, looking at the resurrection of Christ, here we have some events that took place just in the days leading up to his betrayal and his arrest and indeed his crucifixion. What we find here in Matthew 24 and 25 are a series of instructions that our Lord is giving about the coming judgment. His disciples had asked him, when will these things be? Meaning, when will the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple take place? And also, what will be the sign of your coming at the end of the age. And Jesus has been systematically working through an answer to both of those questions with particular emphasis on his coming in glory and the judgment. Let's pray and ask for the Lord's help as we give our careful attention to the study of his word. Our Father, will you send your Holy Spirit to help us? Give us understanding that we confess our weakness, the weakness of our flesh, the weakness of our spirit, to understand your word as we ought to understand it, and all the more to apply it and to obey it as we ought. We pray for your mercy on your people. We pray that as we learn together about the communion of the saints, that you will both instruct us and encourage us to love one another as we have been loved. We ask this in Christ's name, amen. So we've been studying what is known as the Olivet Discourse. And so named because this took place on the Mount of Olives on the east side of Jerusalem following Jesus' very last public teaching where he was confronted maliciously by the scribes and the Sadducees and the Pharisees and their lawyers and their disciples and everyone took shots at the Lord. and he told them, in no uncertain terms, that they would face the judgment of God. Then he and his disciples left through the east gate of Jerusalem, went down through the Kidron Valley, went up the Mount of Olives. It was a very densely wooded area, surrounded, as you might imagine, by the name of the mountain, with olive groves. And as they sat there, looking down at the city of Jerusalem, and probably as the sun was setting on that city and causing it to practically glow in the setting sun, The disciples were asking him about the prophecy that he gave about its destruction. And now here in the very end of this discourse, we looked at this the last two weeks where he makes a statement beginning in verse 31 about the final judgment, about the separation of sheep and goats on that final day when he returns in glory. And this is now the third sermon on this portion of the text. And it's important that we track along with the key points that our Lord has made. And I've divided this into three different sermons because there are three different things that I want to draw out. And so far, here's what we've seen. The key message that we saw two weeks ago is the judgment and that Jesus Christ will one day return as a mighty king, a glorious king. And he will judge every man, woman, and child all by the same standard. There will not be different standards for different people. Everyone will be judged according to the same standard. And he compares this judgment to a shepherd who separates out his sheep from his goats. Perhaps a shepherd at the end of the evening would bring his flock into a pen. He would separate the sheep and the goats. Or if he took them to market, he would separate the sheep and the goats. And since eternal life, and eternal fiery punishment are the only two possible outcomes of this judgment, then the stakes of this judgment couldn't possibly be any higher. So we must pay attention to what our Lord is teaching. And in the whole of this Olivet Discourse, Jesus has been teaching his disciples that his return is certain, that it's sudden, and that it comes at an unknown time. It is certain, sudden, and unknown. And because of that, And because these things were already settled in our Lord's mind, in our Lord's teaching, this final discourse deals with questions about the nature of that judgment. So what we saw three weeks ago, or two weeks ago, is looking at what is the standard? So it's a what question. What is the standard of judgment? We know that everyone will be judged. What is the standard of that judgment? And it was this. The standard of final judgment will be genuine faith and love for the Lord that is evidenced by compassionate care and love for his people. That's the standard of judgment. And then last week, I addressed what was essentially a why question. Okay, that the standard is compassionate care and love for his people is what Jesus is teaching. But why is that the standard? Why isn't it murderers, adulterers, thieves, drug addicts, predators. Why is that not the standard of judgment? And the standard of judgment that the Lord gives to us is this way because the Lord so closely identifies with his people that love for even the most insignificant Christian is counted as love for Christ himself. So that's the why question. And we saw three reasons last week. Why does Jesus so closely identify with his people? Well, number one, it's because we have a common fatherhood. Jesus repeatedly refers to his heavenly father and says that his people are of the same heavenly father. Those who are not of Christ are of the devil. They have the devil for a father. But secondly, Jesus identifies uniquely with those in whom his spirit dwells. For every single child of God, without exception, the spirit of God indwells them. So Jesus has a particular and personal identification with everyone who bears his spirit. And thirdly, Jesus has borne our sin and shared in our suffering. Jesus Christ has such a personal relationship, such a personal identification with all those who have been cleansed and pardoned by his own blood and all those who bear the robes of his own righteousness. Well now, Having dealt with that what question, what will be the standard of judgment? And then dealing next with the why question. Why is that the standard of judgment? Today, I want to deal with a how kind of question. How will the Lord apply this standard on that day of judgment? That's really our question. How does the Lord apply this standard? On the day of judgment, here's how. On the day of judgment, Jesus will reveal how love for him was revealed in ordinary lives, marked by regular, ongoing, and sacrificial love for his people. So how is that standard applied? Well, Jesus reveals to us that on that day of judgment, it will be made manifest. It will be abundantly clear how his people walked in love in ordinary lives, marked by regular, ongoing, and sacrificial devotion to his people. So in today's sermon, I want to address that fundamental question. What does love and service to Christ brothers and sisters look like? What does this look like? And since it is surely true that the Lord identifies with his people so closely that love for even the least of them is actually love for him, then what is our duty to other Christians? To paraphrase Francis Schaeffer, how then shall we now live? So let's read together. I'm gonna read Matthew 25. This is a familiar text by now. I'm gonna read verse 33 to 40. And then I'm gonna read verse 45 and 46 as well. Hear the word of God. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, come, you who are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the king will answer them, truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers, You did it to me. And down to verse 45, and he will answer the ones on his left, saying, truly I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Love for the Lord is revealed on the day of judgment in ordinary lives, that are marked by regular, ongoing, and sacrificial love for Christ's brothers and sisters. Now, what does this compassionate care for the worst people look like? What are our duties one to another? Now, to answer this question, I'm gonna turn to our confession of faith. There is a chapter in our confession, chapter 27, that is entitled Of the Communion of the Saints. Now, our confession, as you know, is the Second London Baptist Confession, originally written in 1677, published, made legal and published in 1689. And this is simply a summary. This is what our forefathers wrote down in an agreement with their Presbyterian and Congregational brothers and sisters, that this is what the Word of God teaches. This is a summary. So it is a tool for us. It doesn't make anything true that isn't already true on the authority of God's Word. But this is a really helpful tool for us. It's a neglected chapter. It's a very short chapter. Chapter 26 in our confession deals with the church. It's the longest chapter in our confession. And then chapter 27 is one of the shorter ones. It's only two paragraphs. And so today's sermon is gonna be in large measure an exposition of our confession of faith, because this is helpful for us in answering the question, what does it look like? Or how is it? that we show love and compassion and tender care to our brothers and sisters. What does that look like? So I'm gonna read a paragraph one in our confession. This is chapter 27, a paragraph one, and then I'll read part of the second paragraph, and then we'll begin to work our way through. There are only, I commend this chapter to you for further study as well. If you have a copy of the confession, or you can certainly get it online, even at 1689.org, and you can follow through the original scripture references listed there as well. But hear this, paragraph one reads this, all saints, and saints is not an extraordinary title. It is not reserved for those who've done a verifiable miracle and who've been formally recognized by the church in some extraordinary capacity. Saints simply means all those who are in Christ, who have been redeemed, who have been declared righteous and have had their sins pardoned and washed clean. So all saints that are united to Jesus Christ their head by his spirit and faith, although they are not made thereby one person with him, have fellowship in his graces, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory. And being united to one another in love, they have communion in each other's gifts and graces, and are obliged to the performance of such duties, public and private, in an orderly way, as do conduce to their mutual good, both in the inward and outward man." Now, the language here is maybe a little bit foreign to our more modern ears. It's an older language, but it's really quite simple if we begin to break it down. But I want to point something out. There are two words near the end of that paragraph, the word obliged and the word duties. that help reinforce and really summarizes the gist of what our Lord is teaching to us. On the day of judgment, we will be judged according to our duties, not based on our preferences, not based on possibilities or what we might have done, but what we ought to have done. And our confession reflects that language, the language of obligation, the language of duty, the language of requirement, the language of ought to, not might. But I'm gonna make five points here, five observations from the confession that will help us reflect more thoroughly on what our Lord is teaching about what it means to visit the sick, to clothe the naked, to feed the hungry, to give water to the thirsty, to welcome the stranger, and to visit the one who is in prison. The first thing that we notice here is that communion requires formal relationship. Union with Christ obligates. Union with Christ creates a duty to one another in a formal relationship. On the day of judgment, Jesus says that he will say to those on his right hand, who are represented by sheep, that they have fed him when he was hungry and clothed him when he was naked and so on. And there is a context, there is a context throughout all the scripture for that sacrificial love, for that compassionate love. And the context begins with formal communion together in a local assembly. It begins with local church membership. One of the key scripture references in our confession of faith here, it lists Ephesians chapter 4. Now we'll turn to that passage here in a few moments in the next point, but in Ephesians chapter 4, clearly the context is of the local assembly. But there's also another scripture proof here. I wanna say just as a side note, when you're working through the confession and you see a scripture proof, the way that the scripture proofs were used or the scripture references were used by our forefathers in the faith, these were kind of signposts that would lead us not to one isolated verse, They weren't cherry-picking one particular verse and ripping it out of context. That's kind of a modern biblicism. But what they would do is point us to that whole chapter, to that whole section of Scripture, and to many of their contemporary and prominent commentaries on those very passages, gifted teachers who had helped expound those passages. So for example, in 1 Corinthians 12, this is one of the references in the Confession of Faith, There is a wonderful metaphor of a body. And Paul paints this vivid image of Christ being the head of a body, and everybody within a local assembly are different members. And he compares them, he compares us to individual parts of a body. Some might be an ear, some might be a hand, some might be a mouth. And he even talks about some that are more dishonorable parts, but they are given greater honor because of the modesty. It's really a vivid image. It's a wonderful image to describe the variation of gifts and the variation of functions within a body. Not everybody's created the same way. Not everybody has the same capacities. But within that, there is a formality here. Look at your own body. If you stand in the mirror, there is a formality to your union together. Your foot and your hand might be far away, but there is a formal association between them. They are not informal. You don't leave your hand in the drawer while you go off to work, and it has no bearing to your foot. We can actually think through that illustration and think about how wonderful it is and how diverse the body of Christ is. And Jesus says the judgment will be as, he uses a simile, it will be like or as a shepherd separating his sheep from the goats. And I've said this before, that the shepherd doesn't look back He doesn't think back. As he's getting ready at the end of the day to separate his sheep into one pen and the goats into another, he doesn't sit back and reflect and think, well, there was one day about six weeks ago when this animal right here did something that was really sheepy, and now that's how I know. Or that one time that this animal over here really made me know that he was a goat. No, this is revealed every single day. In common and ordinary ways, the shepherd automatically knows and easily knows which one are the sheep and which one are the goats. And Jesus says the judgment will be like that. It will be manifest. And I'll make up words here, but the sheepiness of the sheep, the goateness of the goats will be obvious. It's easily observed. And one of the key characteristics of sheep in this context, the characteristic of those that Jesus says, come to my right, enter into the eternal kingdom prepared for you by God. One of those key characteristics is a formal and faithful union with the local body of believers in which they minister to one another's needs in regular and ordinary ways or on a daily basis, week by week, month by month. They loved one another, they sacrificed for one another, they gave. from one another and they receive from one another. And again, we're not saved by our works, but our works reveal who and what we really are. You can dedicate your entire life to feeding poor people. You can visit the sick in every place on the planet, but if you have not committed yourself to regular and ordinary and faithful and messy love within a local church, Your love of Christ's people is hindered and it's incomplete. Full stop, period. Formal union with other sheep is a necessity for every Christian who has the opportunity to do so. We do recognize that there are extraordinary circumstances where Christians are not able to join formally with another church or with other believers, but the exceptions don't define the rule. And there's an important principle here in 1 Timothy chapter 5. We don't have to turn there. I think you know the passage. Paul is talking about the necessity of providing for one's own household. And he says that one who will not work and who will not provide for his own family has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. He places a priority on those who are near to you, those over whom you have a responsibility. We can apply that same principle to the local church because Paul also says in that very same epistle that the church is the household of God. The church of the living God, the pillar and buttress of the truth. So we can explain, we can understand the priority of our own household and we can apply that same principle to our local church commitments. We can give freely all over the world if we're not faithful in the local church. we have in a sense denied the faith. Now let's see and take notice of a second duty, both to God and toward fellow Christians. Union with Christ here also obligates Christians to share their gifts and graces for the spiritual good of one another. Every Christian, because he is united to Christ, because she is united to Christ, then has a duty, they are obligated to share their own gifts and graces for the spiritual good of their fellow Christians. Let's look how it's phrased here in our confession of faith again. I'm looking at halfway through that first paragraph. Being united to one another in love, they have communion in each other's gifts and graces. And here's a reference to Ephesians 4. We'll turn there in a moment. And are obliged, means they have a duty. They have an obligation. to the performance of such duties, public and private, in an orderly way, as do conduce to their mutual good. Again, that's kind of antiquated language, but basically, in such a way that it has the effect of mutual good, it produces mutual good, both in the inward and the outward man. And then the paragraph two says, saints by profession are bound to maintain a holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God and in performing such other spiritual services as tend to their mutual edification. So here again, we see that emphasis on the formality of that fellowship, the obligation to formality. And by formality, I simply mean a an intentional and public union with other saints. But here we see a duty to care for the spiritual good of brothers and sisters. And remember, when Jesus speaks about feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, visiting those in prison, these are representative works. This is not an exhaustive list, nor is it merely a checklist. For us to simply have six little boxes on a paper that we check off, yes, I've done that, I've done that, I remember I took the casserole to the poor lady and I gave the clothes to that guy that time, so I've checked these things off my list. That's not the intention. And we know with certainty that Jesus is not teaching us here that he is concerned only or primarily with the physical welfare of his people. We know that because we're not left, this isn't his only thing that Jesus has ever taught us. This isn't the only sermon he ever preached. So for example, in Matthew chapter 16, Jesus says this to his disciples. He says, what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the son of man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. So we cannot say that Jesus, by saying, when you fed me, when you clothed me, when you visited me, that he is concerned primarily or only with the physical welfare of his people. In other places, he's clearly prioritized the soul. He is concerned that his people care spiritually for one another. So let's now turn to Ephesians chapter four. I've alluded to it twice now. Let's turn and look at this, Ephesians chapter four. There's a beautiful image in this passage. We have a picture of a conquering king and a royal army and leading a host of captives up the holy mountain. Think about Psalm 24. Up the holy mountain to Zion, to the fortified city. and this very same king gives good gifts to his people. So that's the image here. Let's look at Ephesians four, I'm reading in chapter, or verse seven. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called, I'm sorry, verse seven, but the grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives. and he gave gifts to men. This is the resurrected Christ, in all of his glory, giving gifts to men. Now let's look at how Paul applies this here. In saying he ascended, what does it mean that he also had descended into the lower regions, the earth? Now Paul's talking here about his incarnation. He descended from the eternality, outside of space and time, outside of his creation, and he took on flesh, and he descended to the lowest parts, even the earth itself. And verse 10, he who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens that he might fill all things. Here's talking about the resurrection. Christ was crucified, dead, and buried, but he was raised again on the third day, and he ascended to heaven. Then we read this, and this same ascended Christ, it is he, verse 11, who gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes, Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. You see what Paul's saying here. According to the sovereign wisdom of our risen and exalted Christ. He has given gifts and graces to each one of us, but not for our own benefit. These gifts and graces are not for our own edification, not for our own benefit, but instead they were given as a stewardship for the welfare of our brothers and sisters, beginning in our vocal body. Now, later on, Paul would give a very practical expression of this. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, beginning in verse 11, we read this. Paul says, therefore, encourage one another and build one another up. See, it's the same language that he used in Ephesians 4. Based on the gifts that the resurrected and exalted Christ has given to his people, they are to build each other up in love. Paul's using that same language here in 1 Thessalonians. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you were doing. Paul says, look, you're doing good, press on, keep at it. And we urge you, brothers, here's some specific ways. Okay, how do we build each other up, Paul? What does that look like? Also, I'm glad you asked. We urge you, brothers, admonish the idle. We might translate that, rebuke the unruly. Encourage the faint-hearted. Help the weak. Be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Here's how this works itself out within the context of a body of Christ. You ought to encourage one another. And that encouragement looks like, sometimes that encouragement comes in the way of a pretty strong word to one another, admonishment, even rebuking one another. Saying, brother, you're in sin here. You're not right here. You're unruly in this area. Please turn to Christ. Please repent. Please forsake your sin. Sometimes that's the encouragement we need. That is an act of love for one another. That is for our spiritual good. And of course, we could turn back to Matthew 18. This is exactly what our Lord taught us, taught his disciples in an earlier discourse. Paul also says to encourage the fainthearted, who among us at times have not been fainthearted, but we've struggled to believe. Our faith has been weak. We have been overcome by adversity. We've had disappointments. We've experienced loss. And we are weak in faith. And how encouraging is that? To have a brother or sister come and sit with us. Encourage us with the scripture. Sing a hymn with us. Lift our hearts up before the Lord. Encourage us when we are fainthearted. And help the weak. That weakness can come in all different forms. It can be a spiritual weakness. It could also be a physical infirmity. Sounds to me like it could be visiting the sick. feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger. It's just being patient with them all. See, this is a very practical way that within the body of Christ, in ordinary ways, this is not an extraordinary thing. It ought not to be extraordinary for one saint in the body of Christ to encourage another one when they are downcast, when they are weak in faith. It should not be an extraordinary thing for a brother to come along a brother and admonish him. for his unruliness, for admonish him where he's falling short of duties. It should not be an extraordinary thing for one sister to say to another, sister, I want you to do, I want you to encourage you to do better here. You're stumbling in this area. I want to see you striving. And he wrote, Paul wrote again to his introduction to the church at Rome. Listen to what he says here in Romans 1 verse 11. Paul says, I long to see you. that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you. That is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. Do you catch this? Here's the mighty apostle, and he says, I want to come, and I don't get this, writing to you. We don't get this, even when we're corresponding with each other apart from one another. We don't get it in the same way. Paul recognizes that. I think that's important to recognize here, even as I'm talking into a video camera. It's not the same. And Paul recognizes that, but he says, I long to be with you that we can mutually encourage one another. The Apostle Paul said, I need your encouragement. He's one of the heroes of our faith, and rightly so. And he says, I need the brothers and sisters saying kind things to me to encourage me in my weakness. That we might be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours You see, by nature, we tend to love ourselves. Don't we? We tend to seek our own good. And this is why Paul says to husbands in Ephesians 5, the very next chapter, he says, husbands are to love their wives as their own body. Because Paul presupposes, well, every man loves himself. You don't have to tell a man, you don't have to tell a woman, you need to love yourself. We already do. Paul says to husbands, you ought to love your wife in the same way that you love yourself. And this impulse is reinforced by our individualistic and consumeristic culture. So we tend to approach church membership. We tend to approach participation in a church with sort of this ultimate consumer question. What's in it for me? With respect to church membership, we tend to frame it in terms of, what do I get out of this? And we might even ask a similar question on a Sunday morning, even if we're already members of a church. We're faithfully committed, but we ask that question, maybe not out loud, maybe not explicitly, but implicitly in our own hearts, we're asking the question, what am I gonna get out of this today and is it worth it? Is it worth it to be there? What am I gonna get from this? But see, that's the wrong question. It's the wrong question. Nowhere does Jesus say to the sheep in the final judgment, what did you get from the other saints? That's how I'll know. That's really how I know you'll belong to me, is you got a lot of good things from the other believers. He doesn't say that, does he? What did you give? What did you contribute? We should be asking, what can I give to my brothers and sisters today? What opportunities might God give me today to encourage my brothers and sisters and to share the gifts and graces Christ has given to me? Whatever abilities God has given to you, whatever graces that Christ has given to you, whatever gifts that the spirit of the living God has placed in your care, those are stewardships. They aren't yours to use at your own pleasure. They're not mine to use at my own pleasure. We have a duty to one another. Jesus says he will know his sheep by how we love one another. We have a duty to use those gifts and graces for the spiritual good for one another. We have to pray for one another. You know, we publish a program each week. We have three names, three family names in the bulletin every week on an alphabetical basis. Do you know when your name is in the bulletin, you ought to be able to walk around all week going, my brothers and sisters are praying for me this week. What a privilege that is to know that. What an encouragement that is to know that. But can we know that? I mean, are we faithful as church members to pray like that so that our brothers and sisters can be confident they're being prayed for? Are we intentional about seeking out ways that we can encourage our brothers and sisters in our prayer meetings when those needs come up? Are we following up with people and asking, how are you doing with that? You mentioned this last week. working out, how can I pray for you further? We also ought to be ready to give words of admonishment, even rebuke if necessary. Those are tangible ways that we do encourage each other. And any mature believer can testify how much they have been helped by someone along the way telling them they were wrong about something. It might have been something doctrinally, or someone came along Kind of like Priscilla and Aquila did with Apollos and said, brother, you're not quite right on this. And it hurts in the moment, but long-term, praise God for that. I'm thankful that someone set me straight. But that can also happen with our deeds, the words that we use, the way that we conduct ourselves, and for a brother or sister to love us enough to exhort us to do something different or to do better. So union with Christ obligates Christians to share their gifts and graces for the spiritual good of their brothers and sisters. But we also do know, and it's clear in the parable, or not the parable, but the illustration that Jesus gives about the separation of the sheep and the goats, that Jesus is concerned for both body and soul. So we don't want to err on this one ditch that says he's only concerned about the body. But neither do we want to err on the other side of the road and say he is only concerned with our spiritual welfare and cares nothing for our bodies. We have to reject both ideas. He's concerned for both body and soul. So that's our third duty. So third point here is there is a union with Christ obligates Christians to sharing our material resources for our brothers and sisters physical necessities. This is not an option. This is not a maybe. This is not a if I feel like it. This is a duty first to God and by virtue of our union with Christ to one another. In his exposition, it's called Modern Exposition of the 1689 Confession of Faith, Sam Waldron gives a really helpful illustration. He talks about the fact that we are, our union with Christ is direct. But our union with each other is indirect. It's through Christ. And the illustration he gave is just like in our family. If you have siblings, you are united to those siblings by what means? By virtue of your relationship to your parents. That's the direct connection. It's an indirect connection with siblings. And so too here, we have an indirect connection with one another, but by means of this direct spiritual union with the risen and exalted Christ. And this union with Christ then obligates us to share with our siblings both spiritual and material goods. When Jesus says, feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, receive a stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick, visit the prisoner, this isn't, again, merely a checklist. In fact, some commentators have noticed that these represent universal expressions of ordinary kindnesses, really in every time and every place. These are transcultural. These are trans time. So you can go to almost any place on the planet at any time in history and see some combination of these six things as just ordinary things. And it points us to how common this ought to be. And again, let's look at our confession here. At the end of the first paragraph, look at the language, and are obliged to the performance of such duties, public and private. So there are some things we do corporately as a church, both to help the spiritual welfare of one another, and also the physical welfare of one another. And then there are other things we do privately, perhaps that no one sees. Certainly we pray, for example, we pray corporately for our program every week. But we also ought to be praying privately, those duties. in an orderly way, and here's the language again, as do conduce to their mutual good both in the inward and outward man. And this is language that the apostle Paul likes to use. He speaks of us as having body and soul, and Paul uses the language of inner man and outer man, that outer man being the body, and the inner man is the soul. And he talks about the outer man as wasting away, but the inner man is growing and being sanctified. And here, beginning of paragraph two, saints by profession are bound to main a holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God and in performing such other spiritual services as tend to their mutual edification. And then listen to this, as also in relieving each other in outward things, according to their several abilities and necessities. There is a duty for us to relieve one another's physical suffering. to be able to minister physically to the needs of our brothers and sisters. And the apostle to the Hebrews makes something very explicit. He makes this explicit connection between the union that we enjoy with Christ and physical sharing. Listen to this in Hebrews chapter 10. This is striking. Hebrews 10 verse 32. But recall the former days when after you were enlightened, And what do you think that means? It means when you were born again, when you were made new, when you heard the gospel and believed and were redeemed. So he says, recall the former days when after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. Do you hear that? He's saying because of the union we enjoy with Christ, sometimes we've been the ones directly to experience these hardships. Sometimes we have done it vicariously. We have been partners with those who have experienced such suffering. He goes on to say, for you had compassion on those in prison. Does that sound familiar? And you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. See, there's a fundamental Christian duty, because of our union with Christ, to share even in the physical needs of brothers and sisters. And of course, the Apostle John understood this very well, and he says this vividly in his first epistle, in 1 John chapter three, verse 16. He says, by this we know love. See, our culture is really struggling with this concept of love, isn't it? What is love? It's almost like pilot, what is truth? Well, our people are asking, Still asking what is truth, but people in our day are also asking, what is love? What is love? You want John's answer? You want the Bible's answer? By this we know, love, that he laid down his life for us. See, that's the union we have with Christ. He gave up his life willingly. No one took his life. He willingly laid it down for us. And because of that death and burial and resurrection, we are now united to him by faith. And as a consequence of this, John goes on to say, we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. See the direct connection he makes? Because Christ did this, we ought to do it for one another. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him. See, this is precisely in parallel with what our Lord Jesus is teaching about the final judgment. By this, we shall know that we are of the truth. By our love for one another, by our willingness to lay down our lives for one another, even as the apostle of the Hebrews mentioned, even being willing to have our joyfully accepting the plundering of our own property, for the sake of another believer. This is basic Christianity. Jesus says that on the day of judgment, again, I'm going to make up words, the sheepiness of his sheep will be revealed by a lifetime of such ordinary but sacrificial love for one another. Jesus is not holding up a six box checklist on the day of judgment and saying you have to take at least four out of the six in order to get in. That's not the point. He's saying, does your life reveal this kind of love? For me, that's revealed in a love for my people. And this love begins with the local body. Begins with the local body, but then it extends to believers in all places as the Lord gives us opportunity. Look again in our confession. Again in paragraph two, we're near the end of this paragraph now. right in the middle, says, which communion, this communion that we enjoy with Christ, that also has a practical expression in the local assembly, okay? Which communion, according to the rule of the gospel, though especially to be exercised by them, this is the saints, every Christian, in relation wherein they stand, whether in families or churches, yet as God offered opportunity is to be extended to all the household of faith. even all those who in every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. Did you see that? This begins with the local body. In fact, it begins, it's expressed even in our families, in our churches. But as God gives us opportunity, it ought to extend according to our places, according to God's providential placement of us, and I'll say a little bit more about that in the next point, But according to where God has us, we ought to be willing to extend this love beyond just our local assembly. This isn't us four, close the door no more mentality. This isn't, we have our group here, we're gonna care for one another, and we're gonna give no thought to people outside of our local assembly. That's not the teaching at all. In fact, isn't that exactly what the Apostle Paul said to the Galatian church? This is in chapter six of his letter to them in Galatians 6.10. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. We have a duty to do good as we have opportunity, as we can practically, as we can helpfully serve others. We ought to do that. We ought to be a church that is eager to give to missions. We ought to be a church that is eager to support the work of ministry in other places. We ought to be the church who not only monetarily, but by means of sending preachers, of sending help in other ways. We ought to be eager to help other churches and to help other believers in other places. In fact, in one of Paul's longest appeals in his letters, Paul spends all of chapters eight and nine in 2 Corinthians to urging the Corinthian church to take up an offering to support the poor Christians who are in Jerusalem. In fact, he commends, he begins this appeal by commending the Christians at the Macedonian churches. There's a series of churches that Paul had planted in Macedonia. These were not rich churches. These were not wealthy churches. These were not churches with big buildings and overflowing coffers. And we know that because of how Paul describes them. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter eight, beginning in verse one. This is he's writing to the Corinthian church, urging them to imitate their poorer brothers and sisters. He says, we want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia. For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. And this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord, and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you, see that you excel in this act of grace also." Do you see what Paul's doing? You see what he's saying? This is a bold statement. He's saying that caring for the material welfare of these other churches is an act of grace. That's phenomenal that Paul would say such a thing. Paul recognizes that the work of ministry and the health and welfare, even physically, of these other believers is so important that Paul refers to it as an act of grace to them. Paul urges the Corinthian church, look at Macedonia as an example. We didn't ask for it. They gave well beyond their means. They gave not out of their abundance, but out of their poverty. In fact, we didn't expect this. They even begged us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. Sometimes we think we will wait until we have prosperity, until we have an abundance so that we can help. May it be that we love the Lord Jesus Christ as a virtue of our union in him, and that we recognize our union through him with brothers and sisters in such a way that it results in a sacrificial love that really is ordinary. It ought to be ordinary. Now, with that, this brings us to the fourth point here that our confession makes, somewhat as a qualification, but also as an explanation. And it's this, union with Christ obligates each Christian in different and unique ways to other Christians, depending on the gifts, abilities, opportunities, and God-given responsibilities. So we start with the categorical statement. All of us are responsible All of us are duty-bound, all of us are obliged to care for the spiritual and physical needs of other Christians. But then we also have to back up and understand not all of us are able to do that in the same way and to the same degree. And therefore we are not obligated in exactly the same ways. Now this makes perfect sense when we think it through. The Puritans used the word vocation. And we often replace that concept with the word job. So we ask questions like, what is your job? Rather than what is your vocation? And the word vocation is really better. It comes from the Latin word that means calling or to call. And it recognizes, the concept of vocation recognizes the providence of God in giving gifts to men, in giving gifts to women. And also, with those gifts come responsibilities. And the concept of a vocation speaks to both gifts and responsibilities. So again, back in our confession of faith, the language here is as also in relieving each other in outward things according to their several abilities and necessities. So it recognizes that not every need is the same. And many times over the years, we have had, for example, here's a simple example. We've had people come in off the street and ask for help from our church body. Our deacons, I commend them for the wise ways in which they've handled these things. Not every need is the same, and we don't handle all those needs the same. So there's a difference here that our confession recognizes. There are several necessities. Some people just need a meal or two and we've had them sit with us at our fellowship meal and enjoy the good gifts of God and share in that way. Other times we've gotten groceries for someone or we've paid a light bill. We've done different things as a church to help other people, but it hasn't always been the same. But also we recognize that we all have different abilities. We all have different abilities. Not every family at GFBC Conroe has the same means financially. Not every same family has the same means with respect to time and gifts. So we recognize those differences, but we recognize we all have the same duty, but that duty will show up in different ways. And again, I point you back to the example that Christ gives to us through his apostles of a body. In 1 Corinthians, we saw that, but we also see it in Romans. Paul recognizes this. He says, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, Let us use them. If prophecy in proportion to our faith, if service in our serving, the one who teaches in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. I heard Alistair Begg years ago, reading this text and commenting that When we think of gifts given to a local church, we think about those public gifts, teaching, or encouragement, or mercy, but we don't often think about generosity, being able to supply materially and financially to the needs as being a gift of God. And we have no problem, we have no qualms telling someone who is a good teacher, brother, you ought to be using those gifts. We have no problem telling someone who has gifts of mercy to say, sister, you were so good at that, brother, you were so good at that. But then to somebody who has money, well, that's a private matter. We're inconsistent. And we ought to be exhorting one another, even those who have means to say, brother, you ought to be generous. You ought to give, because you can give more than others can, because God has prospered you more. And that's a good thing. We shouldn't be bashful about asking that, and yet we do become bashful. The confession also recognizes the different vocations, the different places. Puritans would often speak of places and stations, meaning in the province of God, how has he ordered us? What kind of vocation has he given to us? What kind of responsibilities within that vocation? Has he put us at a lower level as a servant, or has he put us as a master over many? We were at the dinner table last night, Gina mentioned the centurion, a soldier, and he recognized this. He recognized that while he was over 100 or more men, he was also a man under authority. He had both privilege and responsibility. And sometimes we need to understand this as employers, as parents, as husbands and wives, sons, daughters, church members, as deacons, as pastors. Where do we fit? What kind of responsibility has God given to us? Because the greater responsibility we have, the greater duty that we have to serve in these ways. Saints, do not think that you have too little to offer God by which you may serve your brothers and sisters. The weakest and poorest of God's people have a rich treasure trove of gifts by which they can serve Christ and his people. There's no such thing as a bankrupt Christian. There's no such thing as a Christian who has no resources from which to give to others, both spiritually and materially. Our God is a good and generous and a merciful and gracious God, and we need to remember the parable of the tablets. when one was given 10 and he was rejoicing when his master returned and he was able to bring 10 more. See, and now I have 20. And the next one came, he was given five and he earned five more and he came back and says, master, I now have 10. And nowhere does his master think less of him or get onto him because, well, the other guy had 20 and he only got 10. It was none of that. Our God was so gracious. The master was gracious and magnanimous in his praise saying, Thank you, you have served well in multiplying what I gave to you. To those who have been given significant resources or responsibilities, your everyday stewardship of those resources testifies either to your love of God and to his people or to your love of yourself and those that you choose to love. Our confession then makes one Last point on this matter, it's an important one, it's a qualification. And it's this, union with Christ does not take away our rights or obligations to our own property. It doesn't take away our need for wisdom. It does not take away the necessity of discretion. Look at the final section of the second paragraph there in chapter 27. Nevertheless, so laying out all these duties and obligations, nevertheless, their communion, the saints by calling, their communion one with another as saints does not take away or infringe the title or propriety which each man has in his goods and possessions. This is an important caveat. And it's important when we think about feeding the sick, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, visiting those in prison, welcoming the stranger. Nowhere does this take away either our rights or our stewardship responsibilities with respect to the gifts that God has given to us. I'm not going to say a lot on this last point because I think we understand this, but in one of the very important scripture proofs here in our confession is in Acts chapter five, There's the story of Ananias and Sapphira, and you probably remember the story. Ananias and Sapphira were a couple who had a piece of property, and they boasted to the whole church that we're going to sell this property, we're going to give the whole thing, all the proceeds we're going to give to the church. But they didn't. They sold the property and held back a portion of it for themselves, and God struck them dead. not because they held back a section, but because they had boasted they would give it all and they lied to other people and they lied to the Spirit of God. And Peter says something that's important to us. He says, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? Here's the critical statement. While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man, but to God. So in other words, Peter's saying, this was your property. You were not obligated to sell it. And even having sold it, you were not obligated to give all of it to the church. But you said you would. And you made people think you were that generous, when in fact you were not. After it was sold, they possessed every right to do with the money whatever they desired. So our duties to share with one another and to bear one another's burdens doesn't take away our rights to own property and to manage it as we see fit. But also it does not relieve us of our stewardship responsibilities to manage well our material possessions. In fact, we have a duty to work hard, increase our physical property, our prosperity, as we have opportunity. so that we are able to help others in need. I would encourage you to go and look up the question in our Baptist Catechism under the Ten Commandments, the section with respect to the Eighth Commandment, which says, thou shalt not steal. But the Catechism asks two different questions. What is required and what is forbidden? And in the question, what is required, there is a requirement. This is a neglected concept, but there is a requirement for us to further our outward estate and that of our neighbors. We actually have a duty, not to get filthy, stinking rich, but to work hard to manage our physical resources well, so that we are able to give generously. This is a lot to take in, and I commend to you a further study of this very short, but also very important section in our confession, and I hope that the Lord will help you to see how this helps us understand better what our Lord was teaching here about feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, clothing the naked, and so on. It's very helpful to us. I found it exceedingly helpful in understanding more how our Lord will apply this standard of judgment at the end of the age. But the Bible makes it very clear to us that our salvation, which will be revealed on the last day, whether we are in Christ or we are not in Christ, will be revealed on that day. And our salvation flows from the abundant grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ, his son, whom he raised from the dead. So if you are not in Christ, young people hear this, adults hear this, if you are not in Christ, If you've not been washed and cleansed, if you've not been pardoned of your sin, if you've not had the perfection of Christ given freely to you, imputed to you by faith, then the very first thing you need to do today is not to think about who you can feed and who you can clothe. The very first thing you need to do is flee to Christ in repentance. Humbly confess that you are a sinner in love with yourself. and that you need the mercy and the grace of God. Through faith in the word Jesus Christ, humble yourself, admit that you have no means of reconciling yourself to God the Father. You have no hope. You need to humbly admit that your first and strongest impulse by nature is to serve yourself. Ask him, ask God to make you a new creation by the power of the Spirit of his risen and exalted Son. Across our land today, churches mark the occasion when Jesus rose again from the grave. He was crucified. He was dead. He was buried. But God raised him from the dead and he left the tomb empty and he promises that the very same power that raised Jesus from the dead will work upon all who believe. It's an amazing thing, the thought of a body being in a tomb for three days, really, and fully dead, and to be raised up, brought back to life, what kind of power does that take? And the Bible teaches that same power is at work in all who believe, creating these things in us that seem maybe even unfathomable to us, that I would want to do such things. But if you were in Christ today, know this, In the person of his only begotten son, God the Father has visited you in the nakedness of your shame over your sin. He has clothed you in the righteousness of his own son. He has fed you with his word. He has quenched your thirst by his own spirit. He has loosed you from the dark prison of sin and he has welcomed you, not merely as a stranger, but one who was formerly an enemy and now is a friend, seated you at his own table, and has now counted you not only a friend, but as an adopted brother or sister of a risen king. And surely, that new position, that new privilege, will motivate you to love your brothers and sisters, to serve the saints, in all places, starting with your own local assembly, and as God gives us opportunity to expand out further from there. And because of that shared bond and because of that shared communion, may the Lord graciously give to you both the will and the power to commit yourself formally and faithfully to your local church. May he grant you the grace to serve his brothers and sisters, meeting both spiritual and physical needs, May his spirit help you to discern your unique gifts, the unique opportunities that perhaps he has given to you, to discern with wisdom the abilities that you have to serve his people according to what he has given to you. And may he help you to steward your own estate well so that you may be able to serve others generously. Holy Spirit, will you be so kind to your people that you will take the words that we have heard today, give us understanding of them, hide them in our hearts that we might not send against the triune God. Cause your word to be effectual to our salvation, perhaps to the justification of someone today. and for the sanctification of all of your saints and the preservation of us until that time when you glorify us in the Son. We give you praise and we give you thanks. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.