LOVE IS THE NEW COMMANDMENT (27)/ MATTERS OF LOVING INDIFFERENCE (10)

This Sunday service Pastor (Mrs) Silvia Lia Leigh preached another sermon in the series titled ‘Love is The New Commandment’. Her main scriptures were taken from the books of Romans 14:12-23; 1 Kings 13:1-34;

THE AGAPE LOVE OF GOD

Love is the greatest word in the Bible. In Greek, there are three words for love. Eros refers to sexual love. Philio refers to friendly attachment. Agape means unconditional sacrificial love. In the New Testament, the word Love appears about 200 times, and it is almost always ‘agape’ love. This Love is not just a feeling. It is the highest, most pure form of love, born not out of natura or obligation, but a willful choice and a command to be obeyed.  It is the unselfish, pure, powerful, and sacrificial love that desires the best in another person. This love is best expressed as the Fatherly Love of God for human beings. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn 3:16). This is the Gospel: God the Father sent God the Son to become a Man and die on behalf of sinners. The unbelievers may be religious, but they do not know this agape love. Love is a gift given only to the children of God, who are saved by grace and thru faith in Christ. This love saves and restores face of sin and death. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Because we are born sinners, agape love does not come naturally to us. Agape love requires faithfulness, commitment, courage, strength, wisdom, faith, and sacrifice. Agape love is the magnet God uses to attract the world to Jesus! It was so in the early church, and during all the revivals in the history of the Church! To know the measure of Love you must know how much Love gives. Just think of this Love: God the Father gave us His only begotten Son, to save us! God the Son gave up His Live, His Blood, to pay for our sins! There is no greater Love than that!!! “Love thinks no evil… Love never fails” (1 Cor 13:5, 8). The preaching of God’s Word brings love, healing, and deliverance. “He sent out His word, and it healed, and from their corruptions it freed!” (Ps 107:20; Fenton translation)  

MATTERS OF LOVING INDIFFERENCE (Romans 14:1-23)

The Book of Romans is a masterpiece. It is considered the best Book in the Bible and the greatest piece of literature in the world. It is written by the great Apostle Paul. Many great men of God became born again by studying this Book. It contains the major doctrines of the Gospel. In the first 11 chapters, the Apostle writes about the doctrines of salvation. From chapter 12 to the end, he writes the application of these doctrines. The first two verses in chapter 12 are the basic scriptures on the application of doctrine. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom 12:1,2).  We see that the Christian life is a life of sacrifice for the sake of Christ, to give glory to God! By faith in God’s Word, our minds are renewed and transformed. From starting as ‘babies’ in Christ, we become strong in the faith. Becoming spiritually mature is the aim for every believer. Agape Love is the engine of this transformation. The New Law of Love takes over obedience of the Law as found in the Old Testament.

In chapters 14 and 15 we find the practical application of the Gospel especially in the relationships between believers. Theologians call these principles ‘matters of indifference’ or ‘grey areas’. These are important teachings, but they are not essential to our salvation. They apply to the type of food Christians eat, the mode of dressing, the type of entertainment, the types of baptism, the type of prophecies, the importance of days and how we celebrate our faith. The major doctrines of the Bible cannot be argued about.  As Christians, we all must agree on the major doctrines in the Bible, but we can lovingly disagree on these matters of indifference. If something is forbidden, it is sin. There is no need to discuss it. For example, the Bible says that adultery is sin. We cannot debate that. We now study things that are not clearly forbidden in God’s Word and our attitude to them. Over the years these things have bought much confusion, pain, and division in the Body. The church is made of many believers; some are spiritually strong, and others are spiritually weak in the faith. The first lesson we must learn is that the Body is One!!! The strong ones are commanded not to despise. Not to look down on the weak ones. The weak are commanded not to judge the spiritually strong. Lesson: Matters of indifference should never become central doctrines. Any form of division and segregation based on your Bible knowledge is wrong. We study these teachings so that we behave better, we love without quarreling or causing division in the Body. Selah!

LAW OF LOVE- NEVER BE A STUMBLING BLOCK TO ANYONE

In Greek, the word ‘stumbling-block’ is ‘skandalon’. It means an offence, a hidden snare, a trap-stick to catch animals in the bush. The animal is unaware of the trap because it is covered with leaves and grass. There is a bait hanging there. The animal makes one step towards the bait and touches a stick that moves the trap. The animal is caught alive in the snare. Except a man comes to free it, the animal will be killed and eaten by the hunter. Spiritually, by falling into such a snare, the weak in the faith goes astray or backslides. This Greek word is the origin of the English word ‘scandal’. The word ‘stumbling-block’ has two meanings: the first, is an obstacle on the way, like a tree that fell on the road, and blocking it. The second meaning is deception that leads you away from the road of faithfulness and truth. Both these meanings manifest as ‘verbal traps’ to lure someone in an argument that will end in defeat and destruction. For example, a Lawyer starts an argument with an illiterate man. The lawyer is setting a trap, building a stronghold in the man’s path. The lawyer has no love for the man! Another example of evil is when a pastor starts an argument with a baby Christian. Selah!!!

Stumbling blocks always delay the progress of a believer. The strong in the faith is warned not to use his freedom in becoming a wicked hindrance towards the weak. Knowing that we shall all be judged by Christ, we should be careful that we do not offend others with our words and deeds. Do not discourage, intimidate, or manipulate the weak to act in doubt, fear, or against his conscience. Lesson: Do not think only of yourself. Think of others and the effect your words and deeds have on them. As they say, ‘no man is an island’. No man lives or dies to himself. We are all God’s property, and He will judge all we say and do! Selah!

“Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!” (1 Cor 9:19-23; TM)

Another great principle is the Law of Love: I should never be a stumbling block for anyone, especially in my relationships with other Christians. Some Christians abstain from some types of food they consider unclean. Thru the study of God’s Word and prayer, the mature Christians have discovered the freedom given to them in Christ. For example, they do not need to fear eating pork or catfish. But the believer who is weak in the faith feels guilty about eating these forbidden food items. Paul says that the strong Christian should not force the weak to eat this food. The weak needs Bible teaching to educate his mind and conscience to experience deliverance. It is wrong for the strong Christian to totally ignore the fears or superstitions of the weak and to eat pork in his presence. We are told that because of your liberty, the weak may be ‘grieved’ (Rom 14:15). The word ‘grieved’ means to be offended, hurt, pained, or sad. Putting a stumbling block in the way of the weak believer, hurting him, and making him sad, especially concerning these matters of indifference (food, drinks, fashion style…) is wrong. It is always a sin against love. It damages the conscience of the weak believer and also your reputation. Your testimony as a Christian is ‘a good thing’ you possess. It takes many years to build it. “Therefore, do not let your good be spoken of as evil” (Rom 14:16). Freedom is good, but it should not be used to damage the faith of others. By exercising your freedom, you may hurt others who are weak in the faith, who misunderstand your choices. If freedom leads to pride and selfishness, then don’t insist on it. It is spiritual maturity to remain humble and loving and even to deny the rights to your personal freedom, all for the sake of Christ! Selah!

Let us make a practical application: You are invited to a poor family. You know that they cannot afford to buy meat. You have enough money to go to a restaurant and buy fried chicken or suya. You decide that you cannot punish yourself to eat only rice with vegetables in their house. You carry your food along. When they invite you to the table to eat, you open your pack of fried chicken and eat it in front of them. Then you preach to them that God loves them. You tell them that they should give their lives to Christ. Your sermon will fall on deaf years and closed hearts. You may preach very well, but your selfish attitude has hurt them and become a stumbling block to them. It is true that you have the freedom to eat your own food that you bought with your own money. You are not a thief, but you are not a lover. Eating fried chicken at the table of poor people who cannot afford it is a sin against agape love. A Christian is saved by grace and thru faith. A Christian is free and free indeed. These are all true statements. But it is also true that for as long as we live, we remain servants, bondslaves to our Master, Jesus Christ who died on the Cross to give us freedom. This freedom purchased with His Blood should never be used to hurt weak brethren or to damage His great name. Doing ministry is a sacrifice. Love is never selfish. Love is always wise and humble, flexible to all situations, but still remaining strong, holding to the anchor of the Cross. Once people see you as proud, uncaring, and selfish person, it is very hard to build your reputation again. If you repent, God forgives you. But people are very slow in forgetting the hurt you have caused them as a Christian. Be jealous over your testimony and ministry! Lastly, look unto Jesus. Have the mind of Christ!

SUPERSTITION IS A STRONGHOLD

Superstition is a belief in the supernatural, not based on human reason or scientific knowledge but connected with old religious ideas about witchcraft. Superstition results from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic, pagan ideas, or a false conception of cause and effect. The following are the countries that have the greatest number of superstitious people: India, China, Greece, USA, Japan, France, and Mexico. One reason why people believe in these things is because they feel a sense of control over their destiny. Superstition is a negative stronghold that affects your will, your power to make decisions, and leads to anxiety and depression.

Superstitions in Nigeria

*If a woman has many miscarriages or her children his young, she is cursed to suffer by a witch.

*Nigerians fear the time of the night. They believe that witches attack mostly at night. That is why they wake to pray in the night.

*If you whistle in the night, you attract snakes to your house.

*Nigerians believe that owls are witches. If an owl is seen and heard on the rooftop, they believe that someone will die in that house.

*They believe that cats in general and black cats in particular are witches and trouble will happen if a black cat crosses your path.

*If a man (woman) eats in the dark, or in the dream, he invited demons to eat with him and that leads to sickness, miscarriage, or death.  

*Itchy hands are a good thing because it is a sign of money coming to you.

*If a man plans to travel and he hits his left foot to a stone, he takes it as a bad sign. He will not travel that day again.

*If a man crosses a pregnant woman’s legs, the baby will be born resembling that man and not his real father.

*If you spit on the ground and someone steps on it, you will be sick with a sore throat.

*If your food falls to the ground, do not pick it, and eat it because the devil has eaten it. As a Christian, belief in superstition will hinder your faith and delay your spiritual growth. You need to repent and renew your mind based on God’s Word. Amen!

THEY FAILED TO ENTANGLE JESUS (Matt 22:15-22)

The Pharisees did not have the courage to attack Jesus directly, especially as the general public loved Jesus. They decided to use deception by setting a trap, to entangle Him in His words. The word ‘entangle’ is the same as a snare, or a trap, to catch an animal in the forest. This snare is a stronghold. They sent ‘spies who pretended to be righteous’ (Lk 20: 20). In other words, they sent ‘false brethren’ to find fault with the words of Jesus, to arrest Him. They flattered Jesus saying that He is a true teacher who does not care about anyone, who does not show favoritism. Jesus saw their wickedness. He avoided the trap by speaking the truth. He told them: Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matt 22:21). He said that Christianity is not an enemy to civil government. Jesus spoke God’s Word. This is another example: When the Pharisees brought the adulterous woman to Jesus, they asked Him to judge her. “They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger” (Jn 8:6; NLT). Both His friends and His enemies were amazed at His wisdom. But His enemies refused to obey or submit to the power of His words. They did not believe that Jesus is God and God cannot be tempted or deceived by men. “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren” (Jam 1:12-16).

THE YOUNG AND THE OLD PROPHET (1Kings13:1-34)

This story happened in the city Bethel, during the reign of wicked King Jeroboam. Bethel was the place where Jacob slept and felt the presence of God. He saw the ladder that went to heaven (Genesis 28). In this holy place, king Jeroboam made a calf idol and told the Israelites to worship it instead of going to the temple of Jerusalem to worship Jehovah God. The word Bethel means ‘the house of God’. Jeroboam turned the house of God, the gate to heaven, into a gate of hell. God sent the young prophet to prophesy against the king.

There was a young prophet called ‘a man of God’. Less than ten men in the Old Testament were called like that. Among them were Moses, Samuel, David, Elijah, and Elisha. God sent him to King Jeroboam to prophesy disaster against him. The young prophet was a man of faith and prayer. God immediately performed the word he spoke. The altar split and the ashes poured out. Wicked king Jeroboam opposed him like Elymas opposed Paul. God intervened and the king’s hand got paralyzed. The king saw that the young prophet has power with God in prayer and begged him to pray for his healing. The young prophet prayed, and the king’s hand was healed. The king invited him to his palace to give him food, drinks, and a reward. The young prophet categorically refuses saying that God commanded him not to go to the house of anyone and not to return by the same road. The young prophet was obedient to God’s Word. He received power to prophesy and do miracles. He did not compromise. He was a man of character. He rejected the king’s bribe. He was bold. He did not fear the threats of the king but trusted God for his protection.

An old prophet who was living in Bethel. He is not called ‘a man of God’. He is only called ‘an old prophet’. He has settled into this place of hell, of false religion. He does not prophesy against Jeroboam. Like Lot in Sodom, he has settled in compromise with idolatry. He was crafty. He lied easily. He deceived the young prophet to backslide like him. When he heard about the story, he ran after him. He said that God told him to invite the young prophet to his house to eat and drink. But he was lying to him. The young prophet was deceived and went back to the house of the old prophet to eat and drink. The old prophet then prophesies that because he disobeyed God’s command, the young prophet will die an untimely death. Going home, the young prophet was killed by a lion who did not kill the donkey and did not eat the corpse. The old prophet goes to bring the body to be buried in his own tomb, acknowledging that the young man was a true prophet.

Why did the young prophet refuse the offer of the king, but he accepted the offer of the old prophet? It is possible because he respected the old prophet and his age. “He said to him, “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” (He was lying to him.)” (1 Kg 13:18). Many young believers are intimidated when an older ‘man of God’ talks to them. The young prophet did not discern the stronghold, the religious snare, the trap of lies set by the old prophet. Flattery is a common form of a religious snare. “A man who flatters his neighbor [with smooth words intending to do harm] Is spreading a net for his own feet” (PV29:5; AMP). Flattery is insincere praise, and it is a common stronghold and snare. The flatterer speaks only positive words. He does not speak truth, does not correct another when necessary and out of love. By lying to the man, the flatterer prepares a net just the way a hunter catches an animal in the forest. The Holy Spirit encourages and the devil flatters. There is a mighty difference between these two. God leads to freedom and the devil brings you in bondage. Truth sets free!

SOME LESSONS

*To be a man (woman) of God you need to be faithful, obedient, and bold. It is easier to be deceived by religious people, or men who you may admire in your field of work. After any great success, the devil will attack. Watch and pray to the end!

*From the young prophet we learn that you can start well and end badly. He gradually stopped listen to the Holy Spirit and went away from the safe road of obedience to God. This is a warning to all Christians, especially to the younger ones. If the young prophet obeyed God to the end, he would not have died an untimely death. The young man was resting under an oak tree when the old prophet found him. It is normal to rest but not in ‘a war zone’. He was resting instead of rushing home. There is danger before, during and after the battle. No time to rest and relax until you arrive home. Many young Christians start well. Then they decided to sit under the shadow of an oak tree of education, jobs, marriage or trusting men. Many young people fell into the trap of the old backsliding Christians and are now hurt and disappointed at the church. The young man stopped seeking God for himself. He allowed the old prophet to become God’s voice to him. Trusting man and not God is fatal in ministry. We need to also beware of leaning on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5,6). Gideon, Samson, King Saul, and King Hezekiah, they all did that. They all started out well, but they didn’t end well. There is always danger when we stop seeking God or trusting God by ourselves and depend on people only for wisdom.

*Some people take God’s grace for granted. They refuse to repent until they die. Even after receiving mercy, King Jeroboam did not repent, and God destroys his family. 300 years later, King Josiah, from the line of David, does exactly what the young prophet had said (2 Kg 23:15-20). He kills all the false prophets on that cursed altar. This is one of the greatest and most accurate prophesies in the Bible.  

*Another lesson is taken from the old prophet. He began badly. He lived a life of compromise. But he ended well. He repented and came back to God. He feared God again. He started serving God again. I read that during the Second World War, the fighter pilots made the most mistakes when flying back to the land, after the battle. Why? Because they relaxed. They thought they were free from danger. Then they crashed. An old Christian, Harry Ironside, used to pray like this: ‘O God, keep me from becoming a foolish old man’. Here is one of the best ways you can end well: invest your life and the rest of your future in young people. Mentor and disciple the younger Christians! Worship the Lord!