Amen. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, and our text for today is verse 26. Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss. Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss. The Apostle used the words of this salutation in his letters to the churches at Rome and, as we read this morning, Corinth and here in Thessalonica. It is a form of greeting which is no longer practiced in Christian churches here in the West. It certainly was a common practice in the churches in Paul's day, especially at the communion feast. Believers would greet one another at the communion feast with an holy kiss. It was regarded as a seal, an expression of Christian affection, kindness and love. Notice Paul uses the word holy. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. This term he used to guard against all improper familiarity and scandal was always to be a holy kiss. So given the symbolism of the holy kiss, the apostle was endeavoring to promote oneness and unity among the believers in the Thessalonian church. We do not practice that custom today, but we do often greet one another with a handshake, some with even an embrace. So, this morning, I want to look at what the holy kiss means and what it signifies in relation to the saints of God. We notice, first of all, that a holy kiss signifies friendship. The apostle says, greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. So, there we begin. We begin with the greeting. greet all the brethren with an holy kiss. The believers were to greet one another as a friend would greet a friend. Indeed, the apostle made that clear in this third epistle. That is John's third epistle, John 3, or 3 John, verse 14. But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name. And so you can see the reference between, the connection between greeting and friendship. Our friends salute thee, greet the friends by name. So the brethren were to be on friendly terms with each other, which was signified by unholy kiss. When we look at the word greet, Paul said greet, All of the brethren, you take the word greet. It's an interesting word. The word means to draw to oneself. It also means to clasp. It means to embrace. We often greet a friend by clasping their hand and giving them a warm handshake or, where appropriate, we greet them with an embrace. Such action signifies friendship. Friendship between brethren, between individuals, in this case between Christian brothers and sisters. You turn to Romans chapter 16 and we find there Paul, in his letter, is greeting the brethren and sisters. If you look at Romans 16, you read in verse 3, greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus. Again, in verse 6, you have the word greet, verse 8, and verse 11. But as well as the word greet, remember it means to clasp or to embrace or to draw to oneself. As well as the word greet there in Romans 16, we have the word salute. The word salute is found 16 times in Romans 16. And the word salute and the word greet in the original is the same. It's the same word in the Greek. And so the word salute and the word greet means the same thing, to class, to embrace, to draw near to oneself. And when we salute someone, we show them respect. So when Paul exhorted the Christians at Rome to greet one another or to salute one another, they were to do it on his behalf. He's writing a letter to the church. Paul is saying, if he was there, this is what I would do. I would greet them with a holy kiss. I would clasp them. I would draw them to myself. I would embrace them. That's what he's saying in Romans 16. And here is an example given to us by Paul, so that our brothers and sisters may be greeted by us, may be saluted by us. We are indicating to them by the handshake, by an embrace, we respect them. We're saying, you're my friend. We are friends in Christ. A greeting such as a handshake can go a long way to establishing and developing a friendship. You've met someone for the first time, you've shaken their hand. And that handshake has been the beginning of a friendship. A friendship that has lasted for years. And speaking about the greeting, Paul states, greet all the brethren with an holy kiss. So you have the greeting. And when he said, greet all of the brethren with a holy kiss, you have a reference here to Greece. He says, greet all the brethren. That means the rich and the poor. That means the bond and the free. That means the old and the young. All were to be greeted in this way. All were to be treated as friends in Christ. But when he said, all of the brethren, he would, of course, have been referring to those in the church that maybe some didn't get on with too well. Maybe where there'd been a clash of personalities, they were still to greet one another with a holy kiss. They were still to embrace them as friends in Christ. That's where Peter's description of this greeting or this holy kiss comes into focus. For we read in 1 Peter 5 and verse 14, Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen. Mark the words again. Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen. You notice something? Greed ye one another with a kiss of charity. And what follows? Peter says, peace be with you all. So following the kiss of charity, there is peace. And how often has a handshake, an embrace, kept the peace and preserved the friendship? We know that to be true. A handshake, an embrace, that which is equivalent to a holy kiss or the kiss of charity, has often preserved the friendship, has extended that friendship. Samuel showed great grace and charity when he anointed Saul. You turn to 1 Samuel chapter 9. In 1 Samuel 9, here we have Samuel given the task of anointing Saul. 1 Samuel 9, verse 27, the last verse of the chapter. And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, bid the servant pass on before us. And he passed on. But stand thou still a while that I may show thee the word of God. There's a message there in that. In this very busy world, it's hard to stand still and give time to the Word of God. Samuel told Saul, stand still a while that I may show thee the Word of God. Look at the first verse of the next chapter. 1 Samuel 10, verse 1. Then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it upon his head and kissed him. There's the holy kiss. There's the kiss of charity. Poured it upon his head and kissed him and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? We call it the kiss of charity because we remember how that all came about. Samuel had judged Israel. And then one day the elders of Israel came to Samuel and said, Samuel, basically Samuel, we don't want you to judge us anymore. We want a king like the kings of the other nations. And we know how Samuel was hurt. He was hurt to the very quick of his heart. And he took the matter to the Lord in prayer, and the Lord told Samuel, Samuel, they haven't rejected you, they've rejected me. But here we find Samuel is given the task of going and anointing the man who was to take his place. And how did he anoint him? He anointed him with the holy kiss. That took grace. That took grace on the part of Samuel. Paul said, greet all the brethren, all the brethren with the holy kiss. Even those, perhaps, we may feel in our hearts they have done us wrong. They've said something that has offended us. We are still to greet them. with that which is equivalent to the holy kiss. Greet all the brethren. Remembering the word greet and what it means. To clasp, to embrace, to draw near. Yes, to draw near, not to push away. Greet one another with an holy kiss. So we notice the greeting, we've noticed the grace, and then we notice that it was to be genuine. It's a holy kiss. Genuine because he referred to this particular greeting as being a holy kiss. But not all such greetings are holy. Not all such greetings are pure or are genuine. Turn to 2 Samuel this time. 2 Samuel chapter 20. 2 Samuel 20. We read there in verse 9. Here's the story of Joab. and Emesa. We might read verse 8. When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Emesa went before them, and Joab's garment that he had put on his had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins, and the sheath thereof. And as he went forth, it fell out. Verse nine. And Joab said to Emesa, Art thou in health, my brother? My, everything looks to be all right there. Here's Joab and he greets Emesa and he says, Art thou in health, my brother? Well, brother, how are you keeping today? And Joab took Emesa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. This was to be the kiss of greeting. This was to be the kiss of friendship. Verse 10. But Emesa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand, so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again, and he died. So Joab Abishai, his brother, pursued after Sheba the son of Bashiri. What do you have? You had the kiss of friendship, but it wasn't genuine. Joab said to the Mesa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Emesa didn't realize that Joab had a sword in his hand. And when he drew him to himself, remember the meaning of the word greeting? To draw to oneself? When he drew him to himself to kiss him, to give him the kiss of friendship, he stabbed him with the sword and slew him. It wasn't an holy kiss. because it wasn't genuine. When we greet one another, let it be genuine. Does that not remind us of another individual who came and kissed the Lord? It appeared to be the kiss of friendship. but it wasn't an holy kiss, because in Matthew 26, there in verse 48, verse 47, And while he yet spake, Lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude, with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people, Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he. Hold him fast. That kiss that Judas placed upon the face of Christ was not a genuine kiss. It was a kiss of betrayal. It was a kiss of murder. There is nothing genuine. Would you look at Matthew 26 again? In Matthew 26, once again, verse 48. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same As he hold him fast and forthwith he came to Jesus and said, Heal, Master, and kissed him. And Jesus said unto him, Mark the words. Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they and laid hands on him and took him. The kiss was the symbol of friendship. It was a sign of friendship. And there's Judas, and he came towards the Lord, and he kissed the Lord. And isn't it interesting that the Lord said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? The Lord Jesus, of course, knew what the kiss meant, what it symbolized. It symbolized friendship. And the Lord said to Judas, friend, the Lord was saying to Judas, you came here and you pretended to be my friend. And you came to me and gave me a kiss, a kiss of friendship, and yet you had murder in your heart. The Lord was really saying, Judas, your greeting is not pure. It's a kiss of betrayal. It's a kiss of treachery. It's a kiss of murder. Let us, when we greet one another, may that greeting be genuine. Over in the book of Proverbs, Proverbs 27 and verse 6, faithful are the wounds of a friend, but The kisses of an enemy are deceitful. My, I think those words were written for Judas Iscariot. The kisses of an enemy are deceitful. And Judas came into the garden that day as the enemy of Christ. And he came into the garden and he kissed the Lord And that was the kiss of deceit. And you look at it in that light, it makes the sin of Judas Iscariot all the more horrific. So we have seen that the holy kiss signifies friendship. The holy kiss also signifies fondness. Remember again the words of Peter, He's referring to the holy kiss and he uses the word charity. The word charity there is the same word that we have in 1 Corinthians 13. The greatest of these is charity or love. Peter is saying, greet ye one another with a kiss of love. Greet ye one another with a holy kiss. And there are examples in Scripture where individuals express their love with a holy kiss. There is, first of all, parental love. Greedy one another with a kiss of charity. It is natural for a parent to show their love for their children with a kiss. Same with grandparents and grandchildren too. We kiss our children when we kiss our grandchildren. We're expressing our love for them. You take King David, his son Absalom was a rebel. Absalom was prepared to kill his own father so that he could occupy the throne in Israel. He was actually prepared to do that. And yet what do we find in 2 Samuel 14? We see David expressing his love for his rebellious son. 2 Samuel 14, verse 33. So Joab came to the king and told him. And when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king and bowed himself to his face, on his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom. But he was a rebel. He would have taken his father's life if he was given a chance. And David knew this. David knew how much of a rebel Absalom was. And yet, whenever Absalom came before him, we are told, then the king kissed Absalom. Does that not tell us that this was genuine love? That the love of a parent runs very deep. It runs very deep. I'll be here there just, was it a month ago, of a couple of murders that took place somewhere in Toronto. And the murderer was captured on Toast Circuit TV. And he appeared on the news, getting out of his car and walking up past the place where the murder took place. And the police named him. He was named. They're looking for this individual. And who came to the man's defense? His mother. showing us just how deep a parent's love goes for his or her children. The mother was prepared to defend her son, even though the police knew this man had committed the murders. You recall what the Lord recorded? or said, as recorded in Luke 15, about the prodigal, left home, wanted everything that belonged to him, took all of his living, and we are told he went into the far country. That's significant. The son wanted to get as far away from home as he could, to get as far as he could away from the eye of his father. So he went into a far country and took all that belonged to him with him. And then, of course, we know he began to be and want, fed on the husks that were given to the swine. And he came to an end of himself, and he says, I will arise and go to my father and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and I'm no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me one of thy hired servants. And he rose and came to his father, but when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him. and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. He greeted his wayward son with a kiss. There is an example of parental love. So let our greeting of one another be that expression of love, a warm handshake, or a Christian embrace. As we love Christ, so let us love one another. In John 13, and we read in verse 34, a new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. And I do praise the Lord for the love that we have here for each other. I tell that something to God. as well as the holy kiss seen in parental love, the holy kiss is also seen in pardoned love. When the Lord Jesus entered a certain house, the house of a Pharisee called Simon, another person was found in that house. In Luke chapter 7, And there in verse 37, And behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet behind him, and weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe with the hairs of her head, and kiss his feet. and anointed them with ointment." Was that not the kiss of love? Was that not a holy kiss? Was that kiss not genuine? My, it was. Think of it. Here we find the holy kiss, the kiss of a pardoned sinner. expressing her love for the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who had brought forgiveness and salvation to her. She was a sinner. She was a woman of the streets, and the Lord saved her. And how did she express her love for Christ? knowing that the Lord, with the alabaster box of ointment, shall wash his feet with her tears, but as well as that, she kissed him. When we see Christ, do you ever think about that moment when we set our eyes on Christ for the first time and see him face to face? Shall we not kiss him? Shall we not kiss those hands that were pierced through with nails? Shall we not kiss that face where they plucked the hairs off? Shall we not fall down and kiss those feet that bear the marks of the crucifixion of Calvary and know that it was all for us? and know that he suffered all this for you and for me, yes, surely we'll kiss him. We'll not need any prompting. We'll not need any encouragement. Just to see our dear Savior will be encouragement enough to greet the Lord Jesus with a holy kiss. you notice what the Lord said to Simon the Pharisee. In verse 45, the Lord said to Simon, Thou gavest me no kiss. Thou didst not greet me. See what the Lord was expecting. The Lord was expecting that greeting, the greeting of the holy kiss, but the Lord then rebuked Simon, thou givest me no kiss. Thou didn't greet me with an holy kiss, but this woman since the time I came in has not ceased to kiss my feet. This woman hasn't ceased kissing me. And yet you couldn't afford me one kiss. But then, of course, Simon didn't know anything about being pardoned. And the Word of God has something to say. to those who are not able to greet the Lord with an holy kiss, who are not in love with Christ, the Lord has something to say. Psalm 2 verse 12, kiss the son lest he be angry and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. See, we're exhorted. Kiss the Son. We are to greet him. We are to kiss the Son with that holy kiss, with that kiss that symbolizes friendship and fondness, symbolizes our love for Christ. Paul again said, greet one another with an holy kiss. And so we greet one another as those who are in Christ and have the love of Christ shed abroad in our hearts. We notice also not only parental love, pardon love, but there is peculiar love. Greet one another with a holy kiss. That greeting has reference to believers. It's a holy kiss. It is expressive of love and God's love in our hearts towards our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is peculiar, as it were, to the children of God. because the love a Christian has for a fellow believer is the love of God in his heart. We have already seen that the word greet means to clasp, means to embrace, means to draw to oneself. And you know something? The Lord has set us an example. Turn to Mark 1. We've already considered this in our series on the Touch of the Master's Hand. Mark chapter 1, verse 40. And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will be thou clean. The Lord moved with compassion, put forth his hand and touched him. The word touch means to embrace. And here's this leper, and he comes to Christ. And how does the Lord greet him? How does the Lord greet the leper? Why, he embraces him. That's how he greeted him. The Lord sets us the example. When we greet someone with the clasp of their hand or an appropriate embrace, we are following the Lord's example. Paul spoke about greeting with an holy kiss. Of course, the Saviour's greeting is always holy, and his embrace was holy as well. Finally, not only does the holy kiss signify friendship and fondness, it also signifies fellowship. Kiss all the brethren. So the holy kiss would refer to fellowship amongst the people of God. First of all, among God's saints. Fellowship amongst the saints of God. Since Paul is addressing the brethren, all the brethren, greet one another with an holy kiss. Greet all the brethren. And so this refers to the saints of God. And when the saints of God in the church in Thessalonica greeted one another with a holy kiss, there you have the proof of their fellowship. There's proof that they were in fellowship. Sad to say. Do you hear different stories through the years of ministry of individuals in churches and the fallen out? And they wouldn't dare shake one another's hands. They would go down a different aisle and out a different door. When Paul said, greet all the brethren with a holy kiss, when they greeted one another with a holy kiss, it was proof of their fellowship in Christ. That they were able to sit down together and worship the Lord together. They're able to sit together at the Lord's table. The communion feast. Remember what we said at the beginning? This practice of greeting one another with a holy kiss was prevalent, particularly at the communion feast. It was a sign of communion amongst the people of God. And here Paul says, greet all of the brethren. with an holy kiss. Show the proof of your fellowship, your fellowship one with the other. Paul writing to the church at Philippi, in Philippians 4, in verse 21, Paul says, Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you. All the saints salute you chiefly, they that are of Caesar's household. Once again, this was proof of their fellowship in Christ. Salute every saint. Verse 22, all the saints salute thee. It's fellowship amongst the saints of God. And it was proof of it, the way they greeted one another. It's proof of fellowship. It promotes fellowship. I have been told by individuals who have gone to other churches, maybe let's say when they're on holiday or whatever, and they've gone in and they've sat there through the whole service, they've worshipped and they've got up and left the church and gone out. And nobody shook them by the hand. Nobody said, we're glad to see you. That really doesn't promote fellowship, does it? I've heard others say, well, they did go to a certain church and somebody shook their hand. It was like shaking the hands of a fish. You know where you get a good warm handshake? And then you get one of these wee limp handshakes. Let us, when we have visitors, as we have been doing, when we have visitors, go over and shake them by the hand and say, we're glad to see you. It promotes fellowship. It promotes fellowship. It's proof of fellowship. We read there in 1 Corinthians 16, in those verses 19 and 20, The churches of Asia salute you. Quill and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord. They salute you much in the Lord. They're much in love with you as believers and as a church, with the church that is in their house. All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss. There's fellowship being promoted. Paul is exhorting the believers to greet one another, salute one another, greet one another with an holy kiss. That promotes fellowship, as well as being proof of fellowship. So we have then the holy kiss and fellowship, fellowship amongst the saints, and also fellowship amongst the servants, servants of God. The Apostle enjoyed such fellowship amongst those who had laboured with him in the Gospel. In the last chapter of Romans, as we have already read, some verses, sixteen times, sixteen times he says, salute so and so. Who's he talking about? He's talking about those who labored with him in the gospel. Salute them. I remember being in the airport one time in the States, and I saw this soldier coming up towards a US soldier. It was the time of one of the wars, and I admire the forces when they go to war. They're brave men and women. And I saw this man walking up towards me, and you know what I wanted to do? I wanted to salute him. I didn't know it was proper to do it or not since I wasn't in the army, but I wanted to salute him to indicate to him, I respect you, sir. Paul says, salute the brethren, show your respect. And these servants who have labored with me, they deserve your respect. That's what Paul's saying. Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you. And my, when you look at church history, you see the man who sacrificed much for the cause of Christ. We salute them. If they were with us today, we would embrace them. If they were with us today, we'd shake them by the hand and say, God bless you, sir, for your service and what you've done for the crown rights of King Jesus. greet all of the brethren with unholy kiss. That's what the church at Ephesus did when they said farewell to Paul. What a sad sight this is. And there we read in verse 36, And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down and prayed with them all, and they all wept sore and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him. That would have been the holy kiss. Sorrowing most of all, For the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more, and they accompanied him onto the ship. They had the chance to express their love and feelings towards Paul. I wonder how they would have felt if Paul departed and they weren't able to express their feelings and their appreciation and their respect for him. Let us then take to heart the words of the Apostle. Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss, with a good warm handshake. as I said, where appropriate, with a firm embrace. Let's bow our heads in prayer. Our Father and eternal God, we bless Thee for the Word, for the instruction. We thank Thee, O Lord, for the great example that Paul sets us, but even The great example Christ sets us, the greater example, and even how He greeted that leper with a warm, loving embrace. O Lord, preserve, I pray, the love and the unity that Thou has granted all of us here for each other. Come, Lord, and bless us as individuals. And, O Lord, I pray, where there are those who were not saved, may they kiss the sun, lest to be angry, and they perish from the way. Be with us, Lord, throughout this day. Keep thy good hand upon us. And, Lord, in thy will, return us to thy house this evening. to spend time again with thee and around thy word. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit abide and remain with us now and forevermore. Amen.