SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/15/2014 10:55 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Dealing with
Wayward Sheep
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1 Thessalonians 5:14-15
Message of the
verse: “14 We urge you, brethren,
admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with
everyone.”
I would like to begin this SD with a fairly long quote
from John MacArthur that tells us what we will be looking at in this 14th
verse of 1 Thessalonians chapter five.
“Paul’s approach to church growth was in sharp contrast
to present-day ‘church growth’ experts’ concerns about cultural demographics
and homogeneity, subtle schemes to make the church more ‘seeker friendly,’
sophisticated entertainment methodologies to make worship services ‘more
relevant,’ and glib marketing techniques to attract new members. Rather than relying on such man-made
strategies or concepts, the apostle focused on the sinful obstacles to the
Thessalonian church’s spiritual growth.
In so doing he identified five types of struggling sheep that the healthy
sheep needed to deal with: the wayward,
who needed to get back in line; the worried, who needed to have more courage,
faith, boldness, and confidence; the weak, who needed to be more disciplined in
holiness; the wearisome, who needed to keep pace in obedience; and the wicked,
who needed to behave righteously. The
church’s lack of spiritual progress is usually due to the sinful behavior of
people in those problem categories, and Paul earnestly desired that the
Thessalonians know how to adequately deal with those in each category, as
necessary.” I can say that I had
experience with my former church which was trying to become a seeker friendly
church, and that is the main reason that I had to leave that church after 32
years of attending it. The church is
suppose to be salt and light to the world, and so if the church decides to
become like the world to attract the world then when the world comes to visit
the church they will see no difference, they will see no salt and light. God’s church is supposed to be different than
the world, and it is very sad when one goes into a church and sees little
difference than what is seen in the world.
We will try and look briefly at these different things that Paul writes
about in this verse.
The first one is “admonish the unruly.” This word that is translated as unruly is a
word that was used for a military person who was not marching in line with the
rest of his troops; he wanted to march in tune with his own way of
marching. As we look at the church in
the metaphor of being a family, and I think that we in the church are a family,
we can see that there are rules in most families that all the children are
suppose to obey. Paul is speaking of
those at this church who were not going along with what they were suppose to
do, and in his second letter he has to write more about this as it seems that
the people did not following his instructions from this first letter. Now we must remember that one of the problems
with the Pharisees was that they were so caught up in their rules and
regulations that it became a large problem with them, so we as believers cannot
get so caught up in rules and traditions that we get so out of balanced that we
are no good to anyone.
Next we look at dealing with the worried sheep. The word “fainthearted” which is the word we
are dealing with here actually means “small souled.” This is kind of the opposite to those who
were unruly, as the unruly were pushing on the edges of acceptable Christian behavior;
these were the worried sheep, huddled in the middle and afraid to get near the
edge. MacArthur writes “There are those
in the church who are bold and courageous, unafraid of persecution or
difficulty, and willing to put their lives on the line for a noble cause or
principle of truth. In contrast, the
faithhearted lace the boldness to accept a challenging new ministry, for change
and the unknown, and want a risk-free ministry that is traditional, safe, and
absolutely secure.” Paul is encouraging
stronger believers to come alongside of these weak believers to help them grow
and better understand the truths of the Scriptures. An example of this would be that perhaps a
young or fainthearted believer fears he can lose his salvation and so a
stronger believer can show them a verse like this: “13 These things I have written to you who
believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life (1
John 5:13).”
Next we look at helping the weak. Paul was talking about those who were weak in
the faith, and not those who were physically weak, and were not growing
stronger in the Lord. Many of these who
Paul was writing about were weak in their liberty in Christ. Paul writes about them in Romans and other
letters, and they were the ones who continued in the Jewish laws, like the holy
days and they would not eat meat either.
How do we handle these weak believers?
Dr. Wiersbe writes “With patient, reassuring love. It is unfair and unwise to compare on child
with another, for each one matures in his own time and his own way. We must ‘take hold’ of these weaker believers
and help them stand and walk in the Lord.”
It takes patience to do this and so the next thing we look at has to do
with patience.
“Be patient with everyone.” Dr. Wiersbe writes: “It takes patience to raise a family. That weaker member who demands much help may
one day be a choice leader, so never give up.”
This statement is a very true statement for I believe that many unruly
children finally grew up to be missionaries, and it took the patience of older
and wiser people to allow them to mature and then finally hear the call of God
in their lives to serve Him.
Dealing with the wicked sheep: “15 See that no one repays another with evil
for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all
people.”
John MacArthur writes:
“For Christians, the severest, most painful disappointments come not from the
wickedness of the unbelieving world but from other sheep within the church. Sheep are definitely capable of harming other
sheep, sinning against them in a variety of ways, such as wicked words, that
include gossip and slander, ostracizing them from fellowship and ministry
opportunities, or harming them more overtly by helping break up a marriage (cf.
Ex. 20:14; 1 Thess. 4:6) or influencing someone toward sinful behavior (Matt.
18:6-10).”
Paul tells us how to deal with such wickedness by writing
“See that no one repays another with evil for evil.” John MacArthur writes that this is written in
the “imperative—to those wronged was that no one should repay with evil.” There is no place for
retaliation or personal vengeance among Christians. God’s Word tells us that vengeance belongs to
the Lord. Paul goes on to write “but
always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.” Now we have only to look at our Lord Jesus
Christ to see how this works. Jesus
Christ lived in an unbelievable, indescribable place which is heaven and then
we find out that in eternity past it was decided that He would one day come to
this sinful earth and take on human flesh, and Paul writes that we as believers
should have this same attitude: “5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was
also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He
existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be
grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking
the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being
found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the
point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly
exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that
at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on
earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The Scriptures tell us that we are enemies
with God, and yet God loved us so much that He sent His Son to come to earth
and die in our place so that those who accept this free gift will become
children of God and His enemies no more.
Now since Christ has forgiven us everything we too should forgive those
who sin against us, even those wicked among the Church that Paul writes about
here. Take the time to look up and read
the end of the 52nd chapter and 53rd chapter of Isaiah,
and then look at the 22nd Psalm to see a glimpse of what our Lord
went through for us.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: As I think about
what I have learned or been reminded of in this section I am convicted of using
words in a sinful way, and need to repent of this and remember of how Jesus
spoke to others and do the same.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Use my words wisely and un-sinfully.
Memory verses for the
week: Colossians 3:1-5.
1 Therefore if you have
been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set
your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and you life is hidden
with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who
is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. 5 Therefore consider the members of your
earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed,
which amounts to idolatry.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible question: “Jonah” (Jonah 1:9).
Today’s Bible question: “On
which hill in Athens did Paul preach?”
Answer in our next SD.
8/15/2014 12:06 PM
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