NO IGNORANT BRETHREN
Sermon
DOLLAR SIGNS AND LIFE SYMBOLS
five sermons on stewardship
The year has literally flown by. As I was inserting the check for today's offering in the envelope, I noticed that there are just six Sundays left. The new year will be upon us too soon!
And with a new year will come new work, and obviously new money will be needed to do that work. That is why we have a funding program in the middle of November. If we expect the leadership of our church to present us with an intelligent plan for spending money next year, we must provide ourselves with an indication of what our gifts will be. That is why each of us pledges - it's part of our faithful, responsible participation in our church.
On this day when visitors will be calling in many homes to receive pledges, it is necessary that we relate the Word of God to what we're doing.
Yesterday's paper printed an article in which the writer said that Jesus didn't raise money, and that the church is departing from her Lord when she puts a lot of effort into just such activities. Now this person seems to have forgotten that Jesus did deal with money. His disciples handled money for him. The first Christians asked for money and spent it without the guilt that they were contradicting their Lord.
Comments come, however, when the Church asks for funds. They indicate a continuing need for us to understand the relation between faith and money.
When we look at the New Testament we find that there is a very close relationship between the faith of the first. Christians which is described in rich language, and the life of the first Christians which is supremely practical and pragmatic. We have an illustration of this connection in today's text.
1 Thessalonians was the first book of the New Testament to be written, coming before A.D. 50. It thus represents the faith of the earliest Christians. They had a strong belief in the immanent return of Christ. Paul was responding to a situation in which some Christians had already died. Since Christ had not yet returned in glory, how wuuld these faithful dead see him? Paul was writing to answer this and other nagging questions. Paul's answer recognizes that the return of Christ is a very deep theological issue which is crucial to me because it involves my destiny.
Using rich theological imagry, Paul asserts that Christ has destroyed death as a punishment for sin, and had removed its sting as a separation of man from God. A Christian who dies is like a man who falls asleep and then awakens with Christ. So it really makes no difference whether we are alive or dead, we are with Christ in any case. Paul refines the point several years later in his letter to the Romans: "None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's ... For nothing can separate us from the love of Christ."
Death in the ancient world was a terrible enemy, the end of man's dreams. Death renders everything meaningless. Salvation has to do with overcoming death! For the early Christian theology the only solution to this problem is the resurrection of Christ. Man can have his philosophy. He can think and think. He can dream dreams, and hold vain hopes. But the Christian man has a risen Christ! "For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep."
So whether a man is alive here and now - or sleeps in the grave in death - WE SHALL ALWAYS BE WITH THE LORD. That is the meaning of faith in Christ - assurance here, and victory in death!
Paul is intense in his desire that the Thessalonians know this as a central item of their faith. "We would not have you ignorant brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not
grieve as others do who have no hope." The key word is not 'grieve.' Christians grieve as all other men do over the coming of death and sorrow, over tragedy and injustice, over the shortness of life. But for Paul, Christians grieve with hope and faith in Christ who gives us victory. This gives joy, confidence, and steadfastness to walk through life!
Then Paul makes the jump from theology to life. "Therefore comfort one another with these words." Comfort means strengthen, help live! Paul launches into a spasm of action words as his letter comes to a close.
And we exhort you brethren ...
Admonish the idle
Encourage the fainthearted
Help the weak
Be patient with them all
Always seek to do good to one another and to all
Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances
Do not quench the spirit.
Once you have settled the issue of life and death, and know that nothing can separate you from the love of Christ, then be pragmatic and practical.
In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul concluded that great chapter which proclaims faith in Christ as the victory over death with those magic words, "But thainks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ," and then he moves immediately to the supremely practical, beginning chapter 16 with, "Now concerning the contribution for the Saints."
The early church was concerned that its members not be ignorant of the hope to which they were called, and not ignorant to the practical tasks that lay before them. "Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them," says Paul.
This same Word is addressed to us today. Let us not be ignorant about those who are asleep, or about ourselves for that matter. Let us hear that great word of Christian theology, "Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ." Know that God loves you, is with you, and will never desert you. Believe it! Trust it! Rejoice in it! Be joyful in believing! Be not ignorant of God's love for you.
Then, and only then, be not ignorant of the practical life of faith that lies before you. Luther in his Table Talk commented on our Lord's command for us to be as little children, saying "Dear God, must we be so stupid?" He was of course referring to the tendency for us to be stupid in failing to understand what our Lord wants us to do. We are to be as children in trust and joy, but not in understanding our tasks.
A small boy was once asked by a friend what he was going to be when he grew up, and he answered, "Possible." Responding to the surprise this answer brought, he said, "My mother always says I'm impossible, so when I get older I want to get possible."
Now Christians are often guilty of acting like children, dreaming of impossible things. Your council would tell you of ways to spend a million dollars. It is telling you $85,000 worth of Possible things we can do.
Do not be ignorant of the fact that we can only possess our faith if we respond "Lord use me." Look in Scripture. Look in life. The ones who experience salvation's joy are those who offer themselves. There's a parody of Hamlet's soliloquy which has been passed around in church newsletters which suggests,
To pledge or not to pledge -
That is the question,
Whether tis nobler in a man,
To take the Gospel free and let another foot the bill,
Or sign a pledge and pay toward church expenses!
To give, to pay - aye there's the rub.
To pay,
When on the free-pew plan, a man may have
A sitting free and take the Gospel, too!
As though he paid, and none be aught the wiser
Save the Finance Committee, who -
Most honorable of men - can keep a secret!
"To err is human" and human, too, to buy
At cheapest rate. I'll take the Gospel so!
For others do the same - a common rule!
I'm wise, I'll wait, not work -
I'll pray, not pay,
And let the other fellow foot the bills,
And so I'll get the Gospel free, you see.
We know, however, that whoever tries to get the Gospel free - will lose it!
There was a newspaper blurb recently which quoted a will written by a man from Maine. When it was opened upon his death, it read, "Being of sound mind and body, I spent it all." It was truly a will of a dead man, not only in the grave, but in his life as well.
Let us not be ignorant of our church's needs: Our congregations in New York City for example have incredible tasks which far surpass their income. They are struggling to exist. We who are strong ought to help the weak. This is only an example of the needs of the brethren. Our benevolence gifts help meet those needs. Our own congregation has program needs. We want to continue our education, our ministry, our worship. Our facilities have needs. We must keep our home base operative so we can do our work.
Let us not be ignorant of our resources for meeting the needs. The paper last week noted that the most expensive restaurants in the city are always filled. The most expensive motels in America saw a large increase in occupancy last year. In spite of all the talk, there are resources. We have resources. There's really no other way to talk about practical Christianity today. There are tremendous needs in Pakistan, but you and I can't go there. Our dollars can. Of course we have opportunities to use our time and talents, and unless we use them in our congregation our church would collapse. At the same time, the breadth of our church's needs and opportunities cannot be met without money. Our stewardship brochure says it well, "The Kingdom of God can never be established just by raising money, but neither can it be extended without raising money."
We have a God who loves us, and is with us now and eternally. We have a task - to use our gifts now in the practical work of Christian service. Let there be no ignorant brethren!
Amen.
And with a new year will come new work, and obviously new money will be needed to do that work. That is why we have a funding program in the middle of November. If we expect the leadership of our church to present us with an intelligent plan for spending money next year, we must provide ourselves with an indication of what our gifts will be. That is why each of us pledges - it's part of our faithful, responsible participation in our church.
On this day when visitors will be calling in many homes to receive pledges, it is necessary that we relate the Word of God to what we're doing.
Yesterday's paper printed an article in which the writer said that Jesus didn't raise money, and that the church is departing from her Lord when she puts a lot of effort into just such activities. Now this person seems to have forgotten that Jesus did deal with money. His disciples handled money for him. The first Christians asked for money and spent it without the guilt that they were contradicting their Lord.
Comments come, however, when the Church asks for funds. They indicate a continuing need for us to understand the relation between faith and money.
When we look at the New Testament we find that there is a very close relationship between the faith of the first. Christians which is described in rich language, and the life of the first Christians which is supremely practical and pragmatic. We have an illustration of this connection in today's text.
1 Thessalonians was the first book of the New Testament to be written, coming before A.D. 50. It thus represents the faith of the earliest Christians. They had a strong belief in the immanent return of Christ. Paul was responding to a situation in which some Christians had already died. Since Christ had not yet returned in glory, how wuuld these faithful dead see him? Paul was writing to answer this and other nagging questions. Paul's answer recognizes that the return of Christ is a very deep theological issue which is crucial to me because it involves my destiny.
Using rich theological imagry, Paul asserts that Christ has destroyed death as a punishment for sin, and had removed its sting as a separation of man from God. A Christian who dies is like a man who falls asleep and then awakens with Christ. So it really makes no difference whether we are alive or dead, we are with Christ in any case. Paul refines the point several years later in his letter to the Romans: "None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's ... For nothing can separate us from the love of Christ."
Death in the ancient world was a terrible enemy, the end of man's dreams. Death renders everything meaningless. Salvation has to do with overcoming death! For the early Christian theology the only solution to this problem is the resurrection of Christ. Man can have his philosophy. He can think and think. He can dream dreams, and hold vain hopes. But the Christian man has a risen Christ! "For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep."
So whether a man is alive here and now - or sleeps in the grave in death - WE SHALL ALWAYS BE WITH THE LORD. That is the meaning of faith in Christ - assurance here, and victory in death!
Paul is intense in his desire that the Thessalonians know this as a central item of their faith. "We would not have you ignorant brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not
grieve as others do who have no hope." The key word is not 'grieve.' Christians grieve as all other men do over the coming of death and sorrow, over tragedy and injustice, over the shortness of life. But for Paul, Christians grieve with hope and faith in Christ who gives us victory. This gives joy, confidence, and steadfastness to walk through life!
Then Paul makes the jump from theology to life. "Therefore comfort one another with these words." Comfort means strengthen, help live! Paul launches into a spasm of action words as his letter comes to a close.
And we exhort you brethren ...
Admonish the idle
Encourage the fainthearted
Help the weak
Be patient with them all
Always seek to do good to one another and to all
Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances
Do not quench the spirit.
Once you have settled the issue of life and death, and know that nothing can separate you from the love of Christ, then be pragmatic and practical.
In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul concluded that great chapter which proclaims faith in Christ as the victory over death with those magic words, "But thainks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ," and then he moves immediately to the supremely practical, beginning chapter 16 with, "Now concerning the contribution for the Saints."
The early church was concerned that its members not be ignorant of the hope to which they were called, and not ignorant to the practical tasks that lay before them. "Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them," says Paul.
This same Word is addressed to us today. Let us not be ignorant about those who are asleep, or about ourselves for that matter. Let us hear that great word of Christian theology, "Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ." Know that God loves you, is with you, and will never desert you. Believe it! Trust it! Rejoice in it! Be joyful in believing! Be not ignorant of God's love for you.
Then, and only then, be not ignorant of the practical life of faith that lies before you. Luther in his Table Talk commented on our Lord's command for us to be as little children, saying "Dear God, must we be so stupid?" He was of course referring to the tendency for us to be stupid in failing to understand what our Lord wants us to do. We are to be as children in trust and joy, but not in understanding our tasks.
A small boy was once asked by a friend what he was going to be when he grew up, and he answered, "Possible." Responding to the surprise this answer brought, he said, "My mother always says I'm impossible, so when I get older I want to get possible."
Now Christians are often guilty of acting like children, dreaming of impossible things. Your council would tell you of ways to spend a million dollars. It is telling you $85,000 worth of Possible things we can do.
Do not be ignorant of the fact that we can only possess our faith if we respond "Lord use me." Look in Scripture. Look in life. The ones who experience salvation's joy are those who offer themselves. There's a parody of Hamlet's soliloquy which has been passed around in church newsletters which suggests,
To pledge or not to pledge -
That is the question,
Whether tis nobler in a man,
To take the Gospel free and let another foot the bill,
Or sign a pledge and pay toward church expenses!
To give, to pay - aye there's the rub.
To pay,
When on the free-pew plan, a man may have
A sitting free and take the Gospel, too!
As though he paid, and none be aught the wiser
Save the Finance Committee, who -
Most honorable of men - can keep a secret!
"To err is human" and human, too, to buy
At cheapest rate. I'll take the Gospel so!
For others do the same - a common rule!
I'm wise, I'll wait, not work -
I'll pray, not pay,
And let the other fellow foot the bills,
And so I'll get the Gospel free, you see.
We know, however, that whoever tries to get the Gospel free - will lose it!
There was a newspaper blurb recently which quoted a will written by a man from Maine. When it was opened upon his death, it read, "Being of sound mind and body, I spent it all." It was truly a will of a dead man, not only in the grave, but in his life as well.
Let us not be ignorant of our church's needs: Our congregations in New York City for example have incredible tasks which far surpass their income. They are struggling to exist. We who are strong ought to help the weak. This is only an example of the needs of the brethren. Our benevolence gifts help meet those needs. Our own congregation has program needs. We want to continue our education, our ministry, our worship. Our facilities have needs. We must keep our home base operative so we can do our work.
Let us not be ignorant of our resources for meeting the needs. The paper last week noted that the most expensive restaurants in the city are always filled. The most expensive motels in America saw a large increase in occupancy last year. In spite of all the talk, there are resources. We have resources. There's really no other way to talk about practical Christianity today. There are tremendous needs in Pakistan, but you and I can't go there. Our dollars can. Of course we have opportunities to use our time and talents, and unless we use them in our congregation our church would collapse. At the same time, the breadth of our church's needs and opportunities cannot be met without money. Our stewardship brochure says it well, "The Kingdom of God can never be established just by raising money, but neither can it be extended without raising money."
We have a God who loves us, and is with us now and eternally. We have a task - to use our gifts now in the practical work of Christian service. Let there be no ignorant brethren!
Amen.
