Fully Devoted Followers Live Their Faith at Home and Work

Colossians 3:18-4:1

We spend the majority of our time at home or at work, so it is those two places where our discipleship is lived out more than anywhere else.
If we can not live as fully devoted followers at home or at work, we won’t be able to do it at church or on the mission field. If we can not be fully devoted around people who know and support us, how can we do in a hostile world?

Background
In order to properly understand this passage there are a couple of things you need to know about the culture to which Paul was writing.

1. Roman fathers had absolute authority in the home. He had control of every aspect of live for his wife, children and slaves – in fact they all had about the same status. Wives were valued for their ability to bear children, and handle the domestic chores. Children were valued for their contributions to the family’s livelihood. The father determined who lived and died, who they married and whether they married. He exerted tremendous control even over adult sons. The normal father ruled with a iron fist.
Slaves were little more than living tools, livestock to be used or disposed of as the master saw fit

2. Christianity as a foreign religion was under a great deal of suspicion. What the historian Tacitus said about Jews was also believed about Christians:

…the earliest lessons they receive is to despise the gods, disown their country and to regard their parents, children and brothers of little account.

In this household code Paul seeks to affirm what he can from Roman culture and transform as much as he could. The important thing to remember is that Paul is trying to show that when we are devoted to Christ, that devotion changes the quality and character of all our relationships.
Paul even does the unthinkable Normally only husbands father and master are addressed in household codes, in these verses, however, he addresses the”weaker” first and assumes they can make moral choices, that was unheard of. Then he addresses the husbands, fathers and masters.

I. Wives and Husbands

The issue is not who gets to dominated whom.

• Paul tells Roman husband and wives how to live out their devotion to Christ in their culture without giving offense to the gospel.
• For us it means that Husbands and wives are to first of all submit themselves to Christ and then carry out their responsibilities to each other in the Lord
• Husbands are not to dominate and lord it over their wives
• Wives are not supposed to do that either. Wives should not seek to subtle manipulate and undercut their husband’s place in the home.
• In fact husband are to cultivate Christian virtues in their relationship with each other.

What are these virtues?

[Col 3:12-14 ESV ] Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

The fundamental presumption is that the family is the primary place where Christian virtues are lives out.

II. Children and Parents
Children
Christian children have an obligation to obey their parents, in the Lord.
As long as parents are not asking them to do anything immoral or sinful they are to comply.

Fathers / Parents
In Paul’s day fathers had absolute control over their children and determined whether they lived or died. The normal pattern was to maintain strict discipline so that the children would not get out of line. That disciple sometimes included severe beatings.
Paul answers the question, “How should a father submitted to Christ treat his children?”
Paul’s answer is simple what ever you do be careful not to provoke or irritate them to the point of discouragement to be disheartened, dispirited, broken in spirit, and lose heart. That is not proper behavior for a Christian parent.

III. Employees and Employers
Now, contrary to what you may think there is not a direct correspondence between masters and slaves and employers and employees. But we can gain some important perspectives.

Employees

• Work diligently as if you were working for the Lord and do it whether or not your boss is a Christian
• Put your heart in it and give it your best. As a Christian you should be the most punctual, reliable and responsible person in the place

Employers

• Treat people fairly, expect people to give their best, and your give your best as well.
• Care about those who work for you

Conclusion
In reality this series has been about living as a Christian, a person fully devoted to Christ.
I received an email two weeks ago I want to share with you, because this person gets it.

I want to challenge you today to live as a fully devoted follower of Christ Husbands and wives, parents and children, employers and employees.

Work on developing these virtues in all your relationships: Compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness and love.
In reality you can not develop these on your own…you must depend on the Holy Spirit, and you must yield to him.

And then determine today to become fully devoted
Worship God, Share your faith, Grow in Christ, Serve others, Give of your resources, Connect with other Christian and live your faith at home and work.

Fully Devoted Followers Connect With Other Christians

1 John 1:1-4

In the New Testament koinonia is the word translated “fellowship.” It means to share in something, a partnership, to be a partaker or participant. It refers to the things that people share in common. It also refers to the living bond between us and Christ.

Our Common Connection
Jesus Christ is the common connection all Christians enjoy. Jesus is the only Son of God. he came lived and died and rose from the dead. Because we trust in the work of God through Jesus we are connected with Jesus through all time.

[Eph 4:3-6 ESV ] [Be] eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Because of our connection to Jesus we share in aspects of his life: his life, sufferings, death, resurrection, inheritance and reign.

The Bible gives us several images of our connection to Christ:

• Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)
• Household, family, brothers and sisters, bride of Christ, first-born (Eph 2:19; Rom 8:29; Heb 2:11; Eph 5:22ff;
• Vine and branches (John 15:5)
• Temple or building (Eph 2:19ff)

Each of these images demonstrates a different aspect of our connection with Jesus. But they also highlight our connection with other Christians There is an interconnection between us and every other Christian.

This is one of the meanings of the phrase in the Apostles’ Creed “the communion of saints.” Among all of the doctrinal statements of faith in the Creed is one about our connection with each other. Like all the other statements of doctrine, this one is meaningless if it is not lived out in our lives.

Created for Community
The Trinity exists in complete community. In the beginning when the man was first created, for the first time God said “It is not good.” God, then, went about establishing community.

As humans we were created in the image of God. If we are created in the image of God, and God exists in community, then I am created for community. If community is going to be authentic, I must see you as created in the image of God as well. The fruit of the Spirit, and Spiritual gifts are meaningless outside of community.

Fellowship includes the following

Care for one another

Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples. John 13:35 (LB)

Share our lives with one another

Share each other’s troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 (NLT)

Hold each other accountable

Speaking the truth with love, we will grow up in every way into Christ, who is the head. Eph 4:15 (NCV)

Protect one another

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Eph 4:3 (NIV)

These are all in the context of relationship. The quality of the relationship determines the depth of each aspect of fellowship

We are connected to Christ Jesus in a very real way and because of that connection we are connected to every follower of Christ. One of the ways, the primary way live out our connection to Christ is through our connection with others.
It is easy to criticize others for not caring about us, but we do not have the luxury of that self-indulgence. We will not be held accountable for what others did or did not do, but only for what we do or do not do.

Fully Devoted Followers Give of Their Resources

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Giving is a touchy subject with many people. In today’s world we have almost become identified with the things we possess. So if someone, messes with our stuff or our money they are messing with us.

Paul wrote 2 Corinthians while on his third missionary journey. Among other things he was reminding the churches of Corinth about the offering they were to collect for the poor of Judea. His reminder is contained in Chapter’s 8 & 9. In those chapters he tells us some important things about giving.

A Principled Mind
Paul reminds us that the one who sows sparingly will also read sparing. (V. 6) He recognizes a spiritual principle involved in giving. The principle comes from the long wisdom tradition of the Hebrew Scriptures:

[Pr 11:24-25 ESV ] One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.

Paul tells us that giving is like a farmer sowing seed in his field. The harvest you receive will be in proportion to what you give. Some have taken this to the extreme and taught that God is obligated to multiply your monetary gift. But the harvest is not always monetary, it comes in different ways:

• Satisfaction being an instrument of God
• Destroy the grip of greed and materialism
• We get to be partners with God in blessing others
• We are investing in something beyond ourselves
• We help strengthen families
• People come to know Christ
• People are given hope

v. 10 reminds us that we can be generous because God is the one who has given us the seed we sow. God gives us the seed for our benefit, and gives us seed to give to others, so we should give it. God provides it all!

The Principle is this: When I give, I am enriched in more ways than I can comprehend. When I give I am not diminished in any way I am enriched. The Principled giver knows that.

A Joyful Heart
God loves a cheerful giver.
God loves it when the giver delights in the giving. (MSG)

Cheerful translates the Greek word “hilaros” hilarious, cheerful, joyful, merry; this is the only place this word is used in the New Testament. It is the opposite of being a grudgingly or reluctantly giver; someone who is glad to do so.

“Laughter is an instant vacation. Giving is a two-week cruise with pay.”

— Bob Hope, entertainer; source: Hoyt Hilsman, Hemispheres (December 1999), p.50

The joy of giving comes from knowing the results of our giving. 2 Cor 8:7 calls giving a grace that we excel in just like of gifts of God’s grace, spiritual gifts.

It results in thankfulness. The saints will glorify and thank God because of their generosity. Our giving can increase the thanks which flows to God. Whenever we give others are helped and they give thanks to God. Our giving increases the thanks that flows to God.

A Dedicated Will
Give as you have made up your mind (v. 7)
Our giving is not to be based entirely on emotion, but a reasoned, sacrificial gift. Think about it, think about what you give and then give it. This is not to say our heart should not be involved, but once we have determined what we will give we give it!

When we make a decision and follow through with it, we demonstrate the validity of the gospel

[2 Co 9:13b ] …they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ….

When we decide to be givers to help alleviate the hardships of others we demonstrate the truth of the gospel, we live as Jesus did. Jesus left everything to come and give his all for us. And now we give of our resources to help others.

[Jn 3:16 ESV ] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

God is a giver. He gave us the universe, the earth, our lives, our strength, our intelligence, our skill, our last breath. Giving brings pleasure to God. We are never more like God that when we give. When we give it will bring us pleasure.
What can you give today?

Fully Devoted Followers Serve Others

Mark 10:35-45

We all like being served. As matter of fact we like it so much our economy has given birth to the service economy. There is a whole economic system that is based on serving others.

John and James
John and James surmised “Somebody is going to be in charge, it might as well be us. And why not? They had met all the demands Jesus placed on them as disciples. They left everything to follow Jesus. They had endured many hardships. In their mind they had earned the right to a promotion.

Jesus asked them a question, “Are you ready to suffer?” “Sure,” they said, “why not?” Jesus then reminded them that they would indeed suffer for the kingdom, the positions they wanted were not Jesus’ to grant.

Do you want to be great?
Jesus had to remind them about how the kingdom works. It doesn’t work according to the standards of the world we live in. Greatness is not about power and position. It is amazing that Jesus does not condemn the idea of greatness, he condemns going about it the wrong way.

Jesus wants us to be great. The word traslated “great” in this passage is “mega.” Jesus wants us to be mega Christians, Mega Men, Mega Women, Mega Kids – He wants us to be great, but great by his definition. His definition of greatness is service. The path of greatness is the path of service

The Greatness of Serving
The greatness of serving is not found it a focus on our serving, it is found in putting a focus on the one we serve. To be sure we serve God ultimately, but we serve God by serving others. The focus of serving must be placed not on us but on the people we serve. The path to greatness is serving other people in the name of Jesus

Conclusion
In Holy Communion we celebrate the greatest act of serving in the history of the world, the day when the Almighty God of the universe came to serve a sinful human race by giving his life on the cross. He came as a servant to seek and save that which was lost.
In Jesus’ life, death and resurrection he gave us the pattern of service. We come and offer ourselves as a living sacrifice not just in surrender to God, but in service to others.

Notice these words from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness.

…by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.

— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “The Drum Major Instinct”