“ Summary, Part 3 (final) ” FOURTH, LET US USE OUR TONGUES TO STIMULATE THE GRATEFUL WORSHIP OF OUR CHRISTIAN BRETHREN [44:19]. Eph 5:19-20 – Before God saves us, our foul hearts are sanctuaries of self and our profane tongues are employed in anything but divine praise. A Holy church is a happy church. And a happy church is a grateful church. A grateful church is composed of members that stimulate one another to thankful praise. We must ask ourselves what is the default spirit of our hearts. CONCLUDING QUESTIONS [51:00]. 1. Do you speak only the truth to your Christian brethren? Are we scrupulously honest (as opposed to brutally honest, which the Bible doesn’t condone)? 2. Do you strive to speak only that which builds up your Christian brethren? 3. Do you confess your sins to your brethren and pray for them? Pride prevents such confession, even in the face of those we offend. 4. Do you seek to encourage a spirit of worship in your Christian brethren? Do you have a complaining spirit or a thankful spirit?
“ Summary, Part 2 ” SECOND, LET US USE OUR TONGUES TO BUILD UP AND NOT TEAR DOWN OUR CHRISTIAN BRETHREN [28:20]. Jas 4:11 – In seeking to understand James’ prohibition, we will answer a number of questions. First, what specifically is forbidden? Setting ourselves up as judges of the brethren. Second, to what law do such Christians appeal? Either Pharisaical law or unwarranted legalism. Third, why are we prohibited from speaking against our brethren? Because we ultimately judge God Himself when we do. We will stand in front of the Father, not the brethren. THIRD, LET US USE OUR TONGUES TO CONFESS OUR SINS AND TO PRAY FOR OUR CHRISTIAN BRETHREN [35:33]. Jas 5:16 – If you are a Christian, God has sanctified your tongue that you may use that little organ for sacred purposes like confession your sins and praying, confessing not only to God but also to your Christian brethren, and for interceding for them. First, we must confess our sins to one another, especially our public sins and sins committee against our brethren. Second, we must pray for one another. We must keep short accounts with God and with our brethren. We must not only forgive our sin-confessing brethren, but we must also pray for them. If we don’t forgive them, we will find it hard to seek God’s face for them.
“ Summary, Part 1 ” We continue with 8. BROTHERLY LOVE SPEAKS WHAT IS HELPFUL AND NOT HARMFUL. The things we say reveal a lot about our hearts. Mt 12:35-37 – We will be held to account for our words. The Book of Proverbs is filled with wisdom about the use of the tongue. We examine four advices regarding this critical matter. FIRST, LET US USE OUR TONGUES TO SPEAK TRUTHFULLY AND HONESTLY TO OUR CHRISTIAN BRETHREN [starting at 12:49 of the audio]. Eph 4:25, Col 3:9 – Paul plainly teaches that since we are no longer pagans, but new creatures in Christ, we must not continue in the sins that once characterized us—including lying to one another. Let us first take apart Paul’s exhortations. He assumes that we are liars before we are saved. This is because the father of lies was our father. A new Christian who has long been in the practice of lying before his conversion may find that consistently telling the truth is difficult, but not impossible with the aid of the Holy Spirit (who is the Spirit of Truth). We deduce three things from this: we must be scrupulously honest in all relationships; we must always do our best to know the exact truth about anything that might affect our neighbor, especially before we repeat it to one another; and we must keep our promises.
“ Summary, Part 3 (final) ” C. RELATIONSHIP TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD [44:15]. Mt 10:32-33, Phil 2:13-14, 1 Pet 3:13-15 – We should not be ashamed to speak about our Lord and to live as worthy of the message before men. Living Christians are peculiar and people will notice and ask about it eventually. They probably notice it most in our keeping of the Lord’s Day. II. TO THOSE WITHOUT CHRIST [51:32]. Lk 11:23 – The only way to be a Christian is to be a disciple. It is not enough to believe the basics about Him. It means taking up the cross and relinquishing the dispositions of our hearts. Is 55:6 – “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.”
“ Summary, Part 2 ” 3. Learn to abide in Christ [32:12]. Jn 15:1-15 – A branch can’t live apart from the tree. Without Him, we can do nothing. Rom 12:1-2 encapsulates this point: we are to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. We are not Gnostics: we can give our souls without our bodies, but not our bodies without our souls. If we are conformed to the world, it will be evident in our actions. B. CHURCH INVOLVEMENT [36:18]. 1. Christians are not meant to go it alone. Eph 4:1-17 – We as believers are placed in a body, and we each make a contribution to the whole. Acts 2:42 – Christians carry on their lives together. Heb 10:24 – A caution against forsaking the brethren. It leads directly to apostasy. 2. Work diligently to maintain the unity of the Spirit [39:51]. Eph 4:1 – Unity takes work; it isn’t spontaneous. When someone seems to be fading away, take the effort to bring them back. 3. Identify and exercise your particular gifts [42:26]. 1 Pet 4:10-11 – Our gifts were given to us to give to the brethren. 4. Commit yourself to the centrality of preaching and prayer in your congregational life [43:05]. Anyone who threatens this in the church is an enemy to the Christian soul.
“ Summary, Part 1 ” [Note: the audio begins with a separate message to the church. The sermon begins at 10:56.] 2 Pet 1:1-15 – Focusing on vv. 12-15, we find a message that wasn’t new and was already in practice. So why did Peter state it? To stir up their minds by reminder. It is critical that we make the distinction between what our minds hold and what holds our minds. The latter is that which molds our lives. And so we must be constantly reminded of the truth. I. WORDS OF COUNSEL TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD. A. PERSONAL GROWTH BY GRACE [19:48]. 1. Keep a daily Bible reading at any cost. Ps 1:1-3 – You want the blessing of God on your life, and there is no shortcut around the Scriptures (Jn 17:17). 2. Maintain a good conscience before the face of God. [24:52]. Acts 24:16 – Our conscience either accuses or excuses us. When it accuses us, we can’t face God. So we must go to our advocate, the Lord Jesus Christ, to confess and beg pardon (1 Jn 2:1). Without doing this we can’t face men, either. It is hard to go to sleep with unfinished business.
“ Summary, Part 4 (final) ” CORPORATE ADMONISHMENT [52:41]. For Paul, one important purpose in the corporate singing of God’s praise in our Lord’s Day worship is our mutual instruction and admonishment in Christian doctrine (Col 3:16). He presumes a few facts about public worship that are not common to the thinking of many Christians today: that teaching and admonishment are corporate, not by proxy; that psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs should be doctrinally sound if they would instruct and admonish; and that we must know divine truth if we would edify each other through our corporate singing. We meet an important principle here: a shallow understanding of God and His truth leads invariably to shallow worship. The height of our worship correlates to the depth of our understanding of divine truth. CONCLUDING LESSONS [56:15]: 1. Mutual exhortation is crucial to our church’s perseverance and progress. Do you need to be a Barnabas to a struggling Christian? 2. Mutual admonition is key to our church’s holiness and happiness: it’s an expression of love, both giving and receiving (Ps 6:23, 15:31, 13:18).
“ Summary, Part 3 ” BROTHERLY LOVE ALSO ADMONISHES [39:24]. INDIVIDUAL ADMONISHMENT. The New Testament word translated ‘admonish’ means ‘to warn or instruct, as giving instructions in regard to belief or behavior’. Admonition is the duty of Christians as Christ’s under-shepherds (cf. Acts 20:31). Admonition is a component of faithful gospel preaching (Col 1:28). But it is also the responsibility of the brethren (1 Thes 5:14). The unruly are to be admonished because of their disorderliness. How necessary is this admonition in our day of radical independence! But do not regard your sinning brother as an unbeliever or even as an enemy, but as a beloved brother (2 Thes 3:14-15). We all have a duty to admonish brothers and sisters who are walking out of step with the word of God, and this means that we must be walking in step with it. Hypocrites hold no weight in others’ consciences (Rom 15:14). Faithfulness and love sometimes sends us on a rescue mission to reclaim a wandering brother (Jas 5:19-20).
“ Summary, Part 2 ” Among the lessons: an encouraging person urges new believers with sober exhortations to remain steadfast in their faith and true to Christ; his power lies in his moral uprightness and his being filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith; God uses his gracious characteristics to bring others to the Lord; and he sees beyond a brother’s present failure to his future success. FURTHER, ENCOURAGEMENT MAY TAKE THE FORM OF ENTREATY [14:14]. Acts 14:21-22, 1 Thes 3:1-4 – The disciples and were encouraged to continue in the faith on the grounds that tribulation comes along with it. Tenderness may at times demand urgent, imploring exhortation, especially when addressing the great issues of eternity (1 Thes 2:7-12, 5:11). HOW THIS WORKS OUT PRACTICALLY IN THE CHURCH [22:44]. Titus 2:3-4 – Elderly Christians are called upon to offer their life wisdom to younger Christians. Notice that these exhortations are not to be occasional, but frequent. We have every Lord’s Day for this, and all our fellowship outside church as well (Heb 10:23-25). 1 Thes 5:14 – The downcast especially need encouragement.
“ Summary, Part 1 ” We continue C. THE VARIOUS MANIFESTATIONS OF OUR MUTUAL RESPONSIBILITIES: OUR DUTY TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER IS EXPRESSED IN THE MANY ‘ONE ANOTHER’ EXHORTATIONS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT at 4. BROTHERLY LOVE ENCOURAGES AND ADMONISHES [starting at 1:29 of the audio]. The word family translated ‘encourage’ and ‘encouragement’ may be translated ‘encouragement’, ‘comfort’, ‘consolation,’ ‘exhortation’, and sometimes ‘entreaty’ or ‘appeal’. The literal meaning of the word is to be called alongside for the purpose of giving assistance or support. Jn 16:7 – Christ is the great comforter, but He sends the Holy Spirit in His absence. Acts 4:36, 11:20-24 – Barnabas is a wonderful model for Christian encouragement. In fact, his name means ‘son of encouragement’.
“ Summary, Part 4 (final) ” Rom 14:19 – The Greek word for ‘pursue’ is sometimes translated as ‘persecute’: to chase down with a holy vengeance. Rom 15:5-7 – This perseverance is a gift to glorify Him and His Son. 1 Cor 12:25 – If we care for one another, we will know Christian unity. 1 Thes 5:13 – A spirit of animosity will come through in the voice. What do we say and think about our brethren? Jas 5:9 – Complaining is not a spiritual gift. CONCLUDING APPLICATIONS [50:40]. 1. Let us regard our duty to serve one another self-sacrificially as a great privilege. We’re never more like Christ when we’re serving others (cf. Eph 5:2). 2. Let us regard our duty to be kind and gracious to one another with cheerful anticipation. Happy is the Christian who is gracious to his brethren. Little things have done great things in peoples’ lives. 3. Let us regard our duty to live in unity and at peace with one another as a great blessing. a. Mt 5:9 – we are to be the peacemakers because Christ is the ultimate peacemaker. b. It is worth the pain. Eph 4:3 – peace and unity don’t maintain themselves. Rom 12:18 – be at peace with all men.
“ Summary, Part 3 ” What are some facets of Christian love? 1. BROTHERLY LOVE IS SELFLESS AND SACRIFICIAL [18:28]. Jn 15:12 – Here is our model. Think of what Christ did for unlovable people like us. 1 Jn 3:16-17 – Christian love is generous. If it doesn’t have much, it still gives what it has. 1 Jn 3:15, 18; Jas 2:14, 17 – Our eternal destiny is dependent on whether or not we reach out and meet the needs of our brethren. Has God brought a needy Christian into your life? 2. BROTHERLY LOVE IS GRACIOUS AND KIND [27:24]. Rom 12:10 – Affection is the thrust of this passage. 1 Thes 2:5-8 – Paul went to that church as a loving parent. This sort of live is its own reward. Phil 2:3-8 – Again, Paul looks to Christ for the example. 3. BROTHERLY LOVE IS PEACEABLE AND UNIFYING [34:33]. It is a servant mentality, not a performance mentality. Gal 5:13-15 – Any Christian has enough self-esteem to blow a church to pieces. Rom 12:16 – This oneness of mind concerns the essentials of the Christian faith. Rom 14:13 – Churches can elevate secondary matters into primary ones and fall into legalism, which splits churches and drives Christians away.
“ Summary, Part 2 ” We can glean a few things from this passage: 1. Brotherly love is a commandment, not a suggestion. 2. More to the point: the command to love our Christian brethren is part of God’s moral law. 3. This commandment extends to all Christians, since it extends to all men. 4. We show that we love our brethren as we obey the Ten Commandments; in other words, God’s commandments express what brotherly love looks like in practice. 5. Love is a duty we can never fully discharge, either in this life or in the life to come. We will our love to our brethren forever. Some Christians who regard love only as an emotion – and that we cannot command our emotions – believe it wrong to command love. But that notion is wrong for three reasons: 1. Love is far more than a warm emotion. It is a dispensation to do what is right and good to other people. 2. It is right for God to command us to also have proper feelings toward them. 3. Not a few professing Christians appear to want to have the right to just spontaneously love others out of the goodness of their own hearts without needing to be prompted by God. This is the folly of following our hearts.
“ Summary, Part 1 ” We continue in III. WHAT MUTUAL RESPONSIBILITIES DO CHRISTIANS SHARE AS BRETHREN? with C. THE VARIOUS MANIFESTATIONS OF OUR MUTUAL RESPONSIBILITIES: OUR DUTY TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER IS EXPRESSED IN THE MANY ‘ONE ANOTHER’ EXHORTATIONS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT [starting at 1:09 of the audio]. As impossible as it is for us to love God fully in this life, it seems easier than loving our brethren. This is why love is a crucial grace. There is nothing unlovable about God, but a lot that is unlovable about us. Despite that, we are growing less like our old selves and more like our Lord. Love is a grace that leaves us better than it finds us. Why should we love our Christian brethren? Because we are commanded to love our enemies and all men. If so, then we are certainly commanded to love our brethren. [9:17] Rom 13:8-10 – Love does no wrong; it does what is right.
“ Summary, Part 3 (final) ” Verse 4 shows the selfless nature of love. Verse 5 shows its lack of bias, opportunism, and vindictiveness. Verse 6 shows that love sympathizes with goodness. Verse 7 shows that love is long-suffering, hopeful, and enduring. A Christian is inwardly calm and outwardly gracious when mistreated. Verse 8 shows that love is eternal. Christian brotherly love should grow (2 Thes 1:3). Do you wish to grow in your love for the other members of your church? 1 Pet 4:8 [49:05] – Observe first Peter’s assumptions: he first assumes that Christians love one another. In fact, he assumes that certain fervency characterizes their brotherly love. Second, observe Peter’s exhortation: it is based upon his presumption that fervent brotherly love is evident among his readers. Third, Peter teaches that fervent Christian love deals graciously with the sins of the brethren.
“ Summary, Part 2 ” 1. THE PERFECT MODEL FOR CHRISTIAN BROTHERLY LOVE [17:09]. This is Jesus. Jn 13:34 – What is new of this commandment is the model of this love; it is not new to the Scriptures. Jn 15:13 – Surely we understand little of Christ’s love if we fail to understand what that love cost him (1 Jn 3:16). The rest of the verse reads, “and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren”. Love for the brethren will always cost us something. John teaches that love begets love, and sacrificial love is fragrant in the nostrils of God (Eph 5:2). 2. 1 CORINTHIANS 13: LOVE’S VARIOUS QUALITIES [28:40]. It is observable (1 Thes 3:12). In 1 Cor 13:1, Paul describes the uselessness of a vain and loveless display of spiritual gifts, of tongues in particular. In verse 2, he regards a person who possesses the gifts of exalted prophetic knowledge and mountain-moving faith without love as being nothing. Verse 3 shows how utterly unprofitable any kind of self-sacrificial philanthropy is if it is not motivated by love.
“ Summary, Part 1 ” We continue the study of Christians’ mutual responsibilities as brethren with B. THEY ARE EPITOMIZED IN LOVE [starting at 3:23 of the audio]. Right at the outset, we observe the duty of family love. As members of a family, we infer a sense of duty to family members. The earthly family is a helpful symbol for a Christian family, except that our identity is not physical but spiritual, and not temporal but eternal. Failure to recognize and to live out the practical implications of our essential identity as members of one another only weakens the church. The grace that should characterize a local church is its mutual brotherly love. First of all, we prove we are Christians by your love for one another (all other Christian graces are just practical expressions of love). Love for our Christian brethren proves that we possess saving faith (1 Pet 1:22). If we believe in Christ, we should love others who also believe upon Him (1 Jn 3:23). Love for our Christian brethren proves that we have been born of God and that we know and love God (1 Jn 5:1, 4:7). God’s love for us puts us under a sacred obligation to love those whom He loves—our Christian brethren (1 Jn 4:11).
“ Summary, Part 2 (final) ” B. It will be a matter of joy to the redeemed [20:42]. As the Hebrews sang praises to God after the overthrow of the Egyptian army (Ex 14:30-15:1), so will we sing praises to God at the casting down of the lost (Rev 15:3, Ps 91:7-8). C. Why the redeemed will rejoice at the condemnation of the wicked [26:53]. It is not because they love to see human pain. God has no pleasure even in the pain of a worm, and so it is with the redeemed. It is not because they will to see the destruction of their enemies. This is vengeance, an un-Christian feeling. Rather, they will rejoice because they will have no mind but God’s, one that loves righteousness as He does (Ps 11:7). III. APPLICATIONS FOR THE LOST [30:42]. Learn how little comfort you will have in hell. Not only will God and Christ have no pity (Pr 1:26), but your redeemed loved ones will have no pity. If you have godly parents, or have sat under a godly ministry, consider that they will give the word that you should be condemned. Consider what precious time you have in this time of grace and hear the pleas of the redeemed. Because in your hour, God will no longer call upon you to repent and they will let go your hand.
“ Summary, Part 1 ” [A message preached by Robert Murray M’Cheyne on December 11, 1842]. I. REV 19:3: “AND A SECOND TIME THEY SAID, "HALLELUJAH! HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER." A. Who are the persons who sing this remarkable song? [starting at 4:36 of the audio] They are the saved, from all peoples and all times. B. What is the matter of this song? [6:40] ‘Hallelujah’ is a praise of God in both joy and admiration. C. What is the occasion of this song of the redeemed? [8:03] The destruction of Babylon and the Antichrist. Yet the world mourned the destruction of Babylon. II. ON THE ETERNAL TORMENT OF THE WICKED [11:20]. A. It will be a matter of no grief to the redeemed. Though we dread the fate of the lost on earth, we will not in heaven. We will even watch our loved ones condemned at judgment and not shed a tear (cf. Lk 13:28, 16:22; Is 66:24; Rev 14:10, Ps 16:11). Our Rev 21:4 promise that there will be no more sorrow or tears includes in being in the sight of the lost as they are cast into hell.
“ Summary, Part 2 (final) ” Texts on the sanctity of the church: 1 Cor 12:12-27 – Each part of the church body makes up a whole body. 1 Thes 5:12-15 – The importance of peace and encouragement within the church. Heb 3:12-13 – The church being on watch against the creeping in of sin. Heb 10:24-25 – The importance of fellowship. Texts on mutual submission of the brethren: Eph 5:21 – Christ is the head of the body and we must be in subjection to each other in fear. Heb 13:17 – We must submit to our leaders. 1 Pet 5:5 – Humility is a blessed grace. Submission is essential to church unity and sanctification. 3. OUR SHARED AFFECTION [43:16]. Even troubled families can thrive if they love one another. The church at Thessalonica was such a family (1 Thes 4:9, 3:12). 2 Thes 1:3 – Paul’s prayer for greater love for one another was answered. Their love wasn’t just warm affection, but an active love of works (1 Thes 1:3). 4. A SHARED DESTINY [50:54]. Heb 10:25 – As Christ’s return draws near, it must encourage us to encourage each other (Heb 3:13). What are you willing to do to spend more time with the brethren, to encourage them in the day of Christ’s return?
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