Amy and I enjoy taking in a concert whenever we get the chance to do so. We especially like it when that concert is fairly cheap and close by. While we were living in Mississippi we had the good fortune to live not too far from the largest rodeo held in the state of Mississippi and one of the largest in the world. Every year, the rodeo came to town and it brought with it some of the biggest and best names in country music. We heard Charlie Daniels, Lady Antebellum, and many other famous country artists over the years. One of our first years to attend we saw a singer by the name of Dierks Bentley. If you’re a country music fan you have probably heard of him. We saw him sing his hit song, “My Last Name”. Now this is a song about the proud heritage that his last name carries for him. He talks about defending his last name against a bully during his childhood. He references the presence of this name on some dog tags that his grandfather wore during the war. He talks about how that name above all else is what has been passed down through the generations in his family. The final two verses read, “Daddy always told me, far back as I recall, son you're part of something, you represent us all. So keep it how you got it, as solid as it came, it's my last name. So darlin’ if you're wonderin’, why I've got you here tonight, I wanna be your husband, I want you to be my wife. Ain't got much to give you, but what I've got means, everything, it's my last name.” The song ends with this man’s proposal to his girlfriend where he tells her that of all the gifts that he could give her, his last name is the most precious thing in this world to him and what an honor it would be for her to take it as her own.
And the lyrics to this song are very indicative of how many of us feel about our name. No matter who we are or what we do, we represent our family and we represent that last name. I can still remember my grandmother lecturing me when I was a little boy. After I got into trouble, which was quite frequent, she would go on-and-on about how it affected her. I didn’t really understand it at the time, but it seemed important to her so I knew I needed to act sorry for what I had done. As I got older, and began to study my family history a little more, I began to take pride in my last name and in all of the last names of my family. I began to see us as a unified bunch. We were a family, and family is stronger than any other bond I can think of.
Well, that’s exactly what the Apostle Paul is telling us here. He’s telling us that as part of a family we have a great responsibility. But you see, in this family there aren’t different last names that have come about as a result of marriage. There aren’t two sides of the family. No, in this family, there is one side, with one last name; and that last name is Christian. You see, we are all part of the Christian family if we claim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Verse 27 tells us, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Now I have to tell you that there is a feel and a sense to this verse in the original Greek that we don’t quite get in our modern English translations. You see the phrase that we have translated for us as “let your manner of life be worthy” is actually only one word in the Greek text. It is a word taken from the Greek word for city. This word that we have in the Greek text carries with it the idea of what it means to be part of a community. It’s possible to live in a city or a state without being engaged, but when you are part of a community, then there is a sense of unity and togetherness that comes with it. And that is the exact sense that Paul wants us to have when it comes to our being Christians. He wants us know that we are part of the Church universal; we are part of the body of Christ. The Church is the body and Jesus Christ is the head.
Just like being part of any family carries with it certain expectations, being part of the Church and the body of Christ carries with it even greater expectations. A phrase that I saw over and over again as I studied this text is, “Privilege implies responsibilities.” The greater the privilege the greater the responsibility. The level of responsibility required for being a Christian is greater than the level required by your dad when he gave you the speech before the first time you got to drive with no one else in the car. The privilege of being a Christian carries with it the greatest of responsibilities. And lucky for us, Paul never just throws something out there and leaves us confused. He always takes care to explain exactly how we are to go about achieving the goals that we are to strive for. And that’s exactly what he does for us in the rest of our text today. Now, as we discussed Wednesday morning at the men’s Bible study, there are many things that we could put into this category, but in our text today Paul lays out 3 specific responsibilities that we have as part of this privilege of bearing the name Christian. We must stand firm in one spirit, strive for the advancement of the gospel, and stand up for our faith.
The first responsibility, standing firm in one spirit and one mind, is something that we are both really good at, but we’re also terrible at this at the same time. You see, we are good at taking a stand. We are good at standing up for what we believe in and for our faith. Why, I bet there isn’t a one of you in this room who hasn’t lost friends because of your stance when it comes to your faith. I know I have. Some of you may even be in a situation where you have lost family members because of your faith. Every one of us in this room, I pray, knows that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We know exactly what he has accomplished for us out of his own free will. Unfortunately, many in today’s world don’t see things that way. They see the Bible as a list of rules that must be obeyed and they see it as a book of judgment on their particular lifestyle. Well, the Bible is our guide for life, but it isn’t all about that, it’s about Jesus Christ and what God has done to save a fallen people. Some out there have decided that if we are going to hold God’s Word in such high regard then they will not associate with us. That’s just something that we have to come to terms with and take a stand.
So we know good-and-well that we can stand, the problem comes in doing it in one spirit and one mind. We have a hard time with this. We seem to stubble “keeping the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” as Paul says in Ephesians 4:3. You see, Christians are not to divide along doctrinal or sociological lines. They are to be one. We evangelical churches, sadly, are not known so much for our standing united. We are known for dividing, giving ourselves denominations and guidelines and things of that nature. Now, I want to stop and say that I love being a part of the EPC. I truly hold that the Presbyterian form of government is biblical and of all the Presbyterian churches I believe that the EPC is the closest of all to resembling what the Church ought to look like. Do I think it’s perfect? Absolutely not. Do I think that we are better than other denomination in a sense that we are holier than they are? Absolutely not. Very rarely, if ever, will you see me stand in this pulpit and preach doctrines and principles that are denominational and not biblical. I have just as much love for my new friend Father Craig down the street at St. Matthews as I do for my brother Rev. Bill Crawford at First EPC in Thibodaux. We are all laboring for Christ. Just as we saw Paul say a few weeks ago, it isn’t about keeping score, it’s about proclaiming the gospel regardless of who is doing so or what their motives might be. So we need to stand side-by-side as Christians in our stand for the gospel; period.
The second responsibility that we have as Christians is to strive for the advancement of the gospel. This, in-as-much-as Paul meant it, is something that we struggle greatly with in practice. Every Christian wants everyone else to become a Christian. I don’t think anyone would argue the validity of that statement. The problem comes in how to accomplish that task. In other words, what is the best way to evangelize? You have those who stand on street corners and yell out the good news, you have those who are in your face about the gospel, you have some who want to sit back and wait to be asked, and you even have some who choose to try and berate you and make you feel so bad about who you are that you have no choice but to turn to Christ; what is the best way? Well, I wish I had an answer for you, I really do. All I can tell you is that my approach has always been that you have to earn the right to witness to someone. Now sure, someone whom we don’t really know can see or hear us and we can witness to them that way, but I’m talking about something more. To be able to openly enter into a conversation with someone about the gospel is a privilege that needs to be earned.
Regardless of preferred evangelism methods, Paul’s remarks here are not about what evangelistic methods we practice, but how we practice them. We must be aggressive; we must always be ready to jump into action. We must be prepared at all times to share the good news of the gospel with all those who we come in contact with. This doesn’t mean that we beat people over the head with a “gospel-stick” so-to-speak, but that we take every chance that we have to share the love of Christ with them. That when we find ourselves in those moments where I know that personally I have stayed quiet when I should have spoken up, that the Holy Spirit will come and give us the courage and the strength to open our mouths and let God speak through us. Maybe you know the types of moments that I’m talking about. Maybe you have had your fair share of them too.
The third and final responsibility that Paul gives us here is to stand up. Now, much in the same way that we are to stand firm in our faith, we are pretty good at taking a stand. But when we talk about standing up for our faith in this sense there is something more that goes with it. Look at the words of Paul here, “Not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.” Friends, the Christian life is tough. Make no mistake about it, many times it isn’t easy. In fact, many times it’s quite the opposite of easy. We mentioned briefly the fact that most, if not all, of us have broken relationships between close friends and family because of our faith in Christ and their lack thereof. 2 Timothy 3:12 reads, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” In John’s gospel account the disciple writes, “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light.” These are just some of the passages that promise trials, tribulations, and persecutions. We’ve talked in one of the men’s Sunday school classes that we don’t know if any of us in this country truly understand what persecution is like, but we all know that it’s still very real. Although, persecution may not be something commonly experienced, all of us have faced problems and trials as a result of the actions of those who do not know Christ.
Yeah, there isn’t much doubt about the fact that the Christian life is hard. And there really isn’t much doubt that it’s supposed to be. But take comfort. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus himself said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” If we looked back at a short part of our text for the day we read, “a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.” Now that’s not to say that we are saved by our being persecuted. No, as I’ve said before and you will hear me say over-and-over, we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Have faith. As I was reminded during a conversation this week, “God is not going to give you any more than you can handle.” When we are at our weakest, when we allow Christ to take over all that we are; at that point we are actually at our strongest. We must weather the storms of life anchored to our rock, our refuge, our Savior.
So as we stand firm in one faith, striving for the advancement of the gospel, and standing up for our faith, we must keep in mind what a privilege we have. Privilege implies responsibility. I pray that all of us will take our responsibilities to our God and our brothers and sisters in Christ seriously. I pray that we treat the name Christian as our most precious gift. I pray that we will do all we can to preserve that name above all others. And if you are going through trials and find yourself doubting or thinking that you don’t have the ability to fulfill these responsibilities, then I pray that God would give you strength, and that He would send His Holy Spirit to come and speak to your heart so that there may be no doubt in the mind of any who hear His name what a privilege it is to count ourselves part of His body. Glory be to God. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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