SERMON - The Impossible Commandments? - 15th October 2023 - Dumfries Free Church of Scotland
Reading: Romans 12. 9-21
Creator: Tadamichi | Copyright: tadamichi - Fotolia
Listen to the sermon as preached below:
This morning in our sermon we explored vv. 9-14 of our reading from Romans 12. In it we considered how our love should be genuine, how our relationships within the Church should be as a family, how our spirits should be constantly on the boil, ready to bubble over, how our hope should be set in the Lord Jesus, allowing us to overcome all things through Him who strengthens us (Phil. 4. 13), how our kindness and hospitality should lead us to serve others even when we ourselves are going without, and how our spirits should be spirits of blessing and not cursing. When said like that, it makes them sound almost unattainable! However, I hope we also were able to consider just how much work God puts in to helping us attain this - after all, we can only hope to achieve these things if we rest fully in the Lord and lean on His understanding (not on our own - Prov. 3. 5-6).
This evening we will continue our journey through our passage, taking the second half as our source of teaching. It is my prayer that the Lord will enable us to see that, in the second portion as much as the first, we can trust in His providential grace to enable us to achieve these things, through Him. #15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Aha, I can hear you saying - perhaps this is a more realistic expectation that Paul is placing on us. After all, we know that our emotions are in no small part fed into by the company we keep. If we associate with grumps, we likely feel grumpy; if we associate with rays of sunshine, we likely feel happier. I know this first hand, and perhaps you do too - when friends of mine have experienced depressive episodes, it has made me feel gloomy too. Try as I might to be a ray of sunshine, it has normally ended with me being brought low as well. Similarly, which of us, on seeing a friend rejoicing, can help ourselves but smile. Which of us, on knowing that a family member or friend has safely given birth, can help but breathe a sigh of relief and rejoice at a new life coming in to the world. Maybe it is as easy as happy company makes one happy, and sad company makes one sad.
However, this is not really what the verse is getting at. After all, if this were normal, human behaviour, Paul would hardly have needed write it as an instruction, would he? So what can he be getting at here? Well, perhaps this can be seen most clearly when we have to empathise with folk we don’t really like. Or have to try and experience feelings that we’ve never had to feel before. Perhaps this verse shows us that, as much as it may feel to the contrary, our emotions are a wee bit more under our control than society would have us believe.
And what better an example can we think of than the current war in the Holy Land. Like me, I am sure you will have been shocked, saddened, upset, by the tragic scenes we have heard and seen unfolding in the news. Like me, you will have held in prayer the innocent civilians. Perhaps you will have joined our Governments in condemning the Hamas militants as terrorists. But these feelings become a little harder when we consider those innocent folk on the Palestinian side. A more dated example could be drawn with the city of Dresden during the Second World War - the German city that was flattened and burned alive by Allied bombing raids. Were the Brits of the time able to ‘weep with them that wept’? This is where it becomes more difficult.
Ellicott feels that, in considering this verse, we should recognise that “sympathy is perhaps more under the control of the will than might be supposed. It becomes so, however, not so much by isolated efforts as by a conscious direction given to the whole life” (Ell. Romans 254).
But what may this look like? Well, let us consider what empathy or sympathy actually is. It is not the well timed, “Oh you poor thing”. It is not the tenner in the collection plate for the victims of yet another natural disaster. It is not the perfunctory prayer offered for people in a far off land, of whom we know little. Rather, as we can see of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, it is an unconscious effort spurred and prompted not by knowing ‘how we ought to behave’ but by an instinctive movement of the heart. As Matthew writes, “But when He saw the multitudes, [Jesus] was moved with compassion on them” (Matt. 9. 36). This phrase ‘moved with compassion’, in the original languages, means that feeling we get at the pit of our stomachs - as though we’d been punched in the stomach and winded. Or that phrase we get when we are ‘cut to the heart’. It is all we can do not to burst into tears.
On Friday night it was Jackie’s and my privilege to attend the ordination service of Iain Morrison, our new Assistant Minister at Dowanvale. In the service, much was said in the charges about the minister’s private ministry, often 1:1, where he can come alongside those suffering or in need. Now, if Iain, or Kenny, or any Elder or Minister, came alongside you at your point of deepest need, and glibly said ‘There there’, you would most likely remain unhelped!
But, lest we think this is something we have to train ourselves for, as a Police Dog is trained to sniff out cocaine, let us remember that we can achieve this state of mind only by the grace of God. We must pray that God would give us a true sense of compassion, a truly empathetic and sympathetic spirit, that we may worthily come alongside people to share in their greatest highs and lows - for then and only then can we hope to tenderly show love one to another.
As 1 Corinthians says, “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it”, and “if one member is honoured, all the members rejoice with it” - it’s a natural response, but one we need to nurture.
#16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate.
Following on neatly from the last verse is the instruction to ‘Be of the same mind one toward another’, and perhaps this is most clearly seen when we are able to sympathise and empathise with those experiencing life’s highs and lows. After all, this verse doesn’t mean that we have to agree in every way with our fellow Christian. Within a Church, let alone within a denomination, there will be people of different political persuasions, different upbringings, different approaches to various issues. Jesus surely doesn’t want us to become a bunch of robots, whose feelings have been artificially extracted like some creature from Doctor Who.
However, these differences aside, we must be sure that within our Christian family (that is, the Church) there is a one-ness of mind that stems from a common purpose, a common aim, a common desire. And that desire is nothing other than to follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to declare the unsearchable truths and riches of His grace, to follow more fully in His paths, and, to quote the Shorter Catechism, ‘to glorify God and enjoy Him for ever’ (WSC. A1). After all, our common denominator is the Lord Jesus Christ, is the fact that we are sinners saved by God’s grace, is the fact that we have been called from the dominion of darkness into the Kingdom of light (para. Col. 1. 13). And, of course, when we have these values, these essentials in common, and are working towards the shared values of the Kingdom, our favourite kind of cheese, our favourite city, or love or hatred of Marmite pales into absolute insignificance. What matters is not our wee opinions, but rather our shared need of and delight in God.
Our different talents, gifts, positions, bank balances or statuses are no excuse for differentiation among Christians, but it is important to remember that satan will use and exploit any crack in our armour to try and divide us, and if he can get inbetween us by capitalising on our differences, he will. Furthermore, 1 Corinthians reminds us that our love should be love that “seeketh not her own” (1 Cor. 13. 5), and instead seeks the good of others.
Now, if a person is condescending nowadays, we think he is being cheeky, irritating, unpleasant. We would as soon thump him as love him. A condescending person thinks he is above you - the real Hyacinth Bucket, who famously said “I can’t stand… people who try and pretend they are superior. It makes it much harder for those of us who really are.” However, none of us would accuse Christ Jesus of such behaviour. Yet we are taught in Philippians 2 how Christ condescended to become man, and here in verse 16 we are instructed to ‘condescend to men of low estate’.
Now, such phraseology as ‘men of low estate’ may not sit well with our egalitarian minds. After all, the days of the hierarchies of the C18th are long gone, aren’t they? However it is painfully true that our society is still made up of the have’s and the have-not’s - those who know from where their next meal will come, and those who fear it will never arrive. We may be from different backgrounds in this congregation tonight, yet we are still better off than the vast majority of mankind who live in abject poverty. The dreadful statistics show that the richest 0.8% of the world’s population owns over 51% of its resources, with the richest 20% owning over 80% of its resources. This verse is therefore telling us, in the words of JB Philips, “Don’t become snobbish but take a real interest in ordinary people” (JBP - Letters to Young Churches), or, as Keble wrote, “The trivial round, the common task, Will furnish all we ought to ask; Room to deny ourselves, a road To bring us daily nearer God” (John Keble).
#16b Be not wise in your own conceits.
I’ve held this point over separately because I think it is worthy of its own subheading - for in considering this verse we should also remember a verse from the preceding chapter - 11. 25, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits”.
Let us remember that humility is a fruit of the Spirit, it is a vital part of the Christian life. Without humility, we would soon forget that we are no better than others. We may see ourselves as an uber-Christian, an uber-human. God forbid, we may even see ourselves as equal to or better than God! Humility in a Christian will never do.
But humility is not all about being humble and lowly (although these are two important aspects). It is as much about being malleable. Think of it this way - if a potter picked up a piece of clay to be sculpted but it refused to bend with his hands, he would throw it away - it would be useless to him. The reason that the potter works with clay is because it can be moulded, bended, formed, before being fired and set. Similarly, if we become ‘wise in [y]our own conceits’, and are no longer malleable for the Kingdom, we are as useless as the stubborn clay. Pride (the opposite of humility) renders us useless in God’s hands. We become sure of ourselves, that we are always in the right, we become unwilling or at worst unable to change (even if we are in the wrong), we become big headed, arrogant, rude.
Perhaps we knew that one child at school, or perhaps we were that child at school(!), who knew everything. He was unwilling to be taught, always answering back, counteracting the teacher’s claims. Perhaps we know that man or woman in the workplace who is unwilling to accept that he or she ever made a mistake - or again, perhaps we are that person! The inflexible, rigid, person can never hope to learn, will never act according to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and may as well curl up in a ball and wait for the sweet release of death. The instruction to “Be not wise in your own conceits” is not about keeping us subservient, or making us doubt everything we once believed - it is about making sure we don’t lose our flexibility, our elasticity, our usefulness for Kingdom work.
#17-18 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
We will come back to not recompensing evil for evil, but let us consider what it means to “Provide things honest”. Returning to Iain Morrison’s ordination for a moment, one of the most moving lines (for me) was when, during a charge, the Minister told us that we must never doubt how much Iain and Kenny love us. And this idea of never doubting can bring us back to the text - for in telling us to “Provide things honest”, Paul is telling his hearers and readers that, in our day to day lives, we must act in a way that means those around us have no reason to doubt our intentions and thoughts. That’s to say, we must never give people cause to think we are of dubious character.
After all, to return to “Recompense to no man evil for evil”, this is very much the character of Jesus Christ that we are told to emulate: Jesus who told his followers to turn the other cheek, who took the Roman beatings and ultimately endured the Roman cross.
However, it is so important we take a step back and think this entire passage over. The title of today’s sermons is ‘The Impossible Commandments?’, and it is important to note the question-mark. On reading these, and perhaps on hearing them, you would understandably think that Paul is off his head - how can he expect us to live in this perfect way? Well, there are a couple of things here.
1) “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2. 5) - we are trying, in all of this, to be emulators of Christ Jesus, we are trying to live our life following His example. To do so comes at a cost - the cost is giving up the right to act in the ways that many folk around us act, the right to exploit people, the right to seek our own personal gain, you could go on.
2) And here is the crucial bit - Paul says, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you” - and I think this clause could easily be describing the whole passage. We are fallen people. We are sinners. We live in a world which seems totally unsuited to following Jesus. We are selfish, we are petty - expecting us to live in this way is at best misguided and at worst loading an expectation on us that we can never achieve. But Paul enters this caveat - “as much as lieth in you”. Elsewhere in his letters, Paul acknowledges that the things he wants to do, he doesn’t to, but the things he doesn’t want to do, he does (Rom. 7. 15ff) - sound familiar?? It certainly does to me!
I guess here we should take note of two important considerations, firstly Paul says “if possible” - it is important to note that, sadly, sometimes peace will not be possible. As much as we wish it was, sometimes peace is not going to be achievable this side of heaven. Furthermore, “as much as lieth in you” - sometimes, even if peace is possible, we aren’t the ones able to bring it.
This entire passage, covering this morning’s and this evening’s sermons, is about our intentions - it is about how we wish to live our lives, how we try to live our lives, the pattern we seek to live our lives by and mould our lives to. And that pattern is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, of course, nothing I have just said is intended to undermine the importance of these instructions. It is important we seek to do these things, to act in this way. But it is equally, if not more, important to remember that it is not our actions that decide our ultimate fate. It is not our actions that decide whether, when we take leave of our mortal flesh, our souls go up or down. These actions should be our response to salvation, not our ticket towards it. We seek to live this way in response to our salvation being won for us by Jesus Christ, not to try and buy our way into heaven.
Furthermore, nothing in what I’ve just said contradicts the God-given responsibility and role of magistrates. To recompense evil for evil is when we exact vengeance ourselves. The Westminster Confession of Faith (chapter 23) declares, “God, the Supreme Lord and King of all the world, hath ordained civil magistrates to be under Him, over the people, for His own glory and the public good… for the defence and encouragement of them that are good, and for the punishment of evil-doers”, and this references Romans 13 to evidence the claim. Justice, therefore, is good and Godly - revenge is not.
Secondly, to “provide things honest in the sight of men” is not just about doing good, but is also about being seen to do good. Through being seen to do good, other people can be encouraged in The Way, but to act otherwise is to bring disgrace on the name Christian.
#19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
I must say - of all the verses we have covered today, it is this one that sticks in my throat the most. It sticks there, a) because the verse seems to incite us to make space in our lives for wrath, and b) because the natural human instinct to push for vengeance is set aside.
In the last year or so, Jackie and I had to deal with some very unpleasant people from my former denomination. These people acted in a way that left us wanting the worst for them. I will be honest, friends, and admit that I would not have batted an eyelid (at one point in time) if these people had walked out of the room and never been seen again. And as much as it pains me to say it, to admit it before you all, I have thought similarly of others. Perhaps you have too.
But this verse reminds us of something crucial - something fundamental to our Christian faith.
God is just. God is good. We believe that, as the Creator and Ruler of the earth, He has all things within His power. Furthermore we believe that, as a Good God, He will not leave the righteous to suffer, nor will He leave unrepented sin unpunished. It is essential that we believe this and trust in it.
When we are told to “give place unto wrath”, what Paul is getting at is that we should “give place unto [God’s] wrath” - that’s to say, we need to allow for this absolute fact. When people mistreat us, when people behave in appalling ways, God’s anger is kindled. The solution to this, if I may call it that, is repentance. Honest repentance, coming from the heart, is all God seeks for. But for those who are unrepentant, there is the promise (which many Christians leave unspoken or hushed) of hell, of distance between the unrepentant person and God. God will punish unrepented sin.
Again here we see reiterated that self-avenging is wrong, but does not exclude the use of legal redress. But, while accepting this as an option, we must be careful not to overlook the general instruction in 1 Corinthians 6. 6, where we are told that we shouldn’t take a fellow believer to court.
And because of this, it is important that we allow God to have His place, and remember our position in life. We would not take someone to court and then play judge, jury and executioner ourselves. No, rather we would allow Court to take place, the people to play their part, and trust that just judgement be meted out. Similarly here - if people sin or mistreat us, it is not for us to punish. Rather, that is a matter between them and God. We should encourage, yes; we should rebuke if appropriate, to encourage our Christian brother or sister along the right path; but to punish is the prerogative of the Lord and Creator of the world, to whom every knee bows. After all, our Lord God says ‘Vengeance is Mine, and I will repay’ (Deut. 32. 35) - the unrepentant may escape earthly judgement, but will never escape heavenly justice. I say this not to give us a thrill of knowing that some people are being punished, but this does remind us that we mustn’t usurp God’s authority.
#20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
So how should we act? What should we do if we come across people who mistreat us, people who behave unacceptably? Let us consider how Jesus Himself acted. When He was brought into the Roman courtyard, the soldiers beat Him senseless, but He didn’t retalliate. When He was arrested, and His disciple cut off the ear of the High Priest’s servant, He did not gloat but rather healed the man. He instructs us to turn the other cheek.
The way we respond to evildoers matters. The way we act in the face of adversity matters.
It matters because of the example we set: Christians who punch back are not a particularly good illustration of the Servant King, are they?
It matters because, if we respond in a Christlike way, it might turn people’s hearts to realise that they are behaving unacceptably. Perhaps the sight of the other cheek will be enough to turn someone’s heart to repentance. Perhaps the enemy will turn into the friend.
And it matters because, if after giving the person every chance, they still continue in sin, then their actions will be answerable to God alone, as previously mentioned. The ‘coals of fire’ here refer, not as some may think or wish, to the fires of hell, but rather to the shame we feel when someone we mistreat treats us well. It is to be our prayer that this shame, if not our own witness, will lead others to a change of heart.
#21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
However, if one verse were to sum up the whole text, it would surely be this closing verse. Ellicott describes this as a “fine sentiment”, it is a good way to be, and reminds us that exacting vengeance is not a sign of strength but rather a sign of weakness. It is not a marker of a good disciple, but rather of one who has erred and strayed from Christ’s way.
If we are able to overcome our base, fleshy urge for revenge, it will mean we have tamed the body. James speaks of taming the tongue (Jas. 3. 8), of stopping our tongue leading us into sin. So too, if we can hold off revenge, if we can overcome our urge to delight at other people’s misfortune, if we can condescend to people of low estate, if we can stop ourselves ‘giving as good as we get’, or avenging ourselves, then we will not be “overcome of evil”.
Not only is this way of life the more noble way to live, not only is this way of life more likely to encourage people to follow Jesus, but this way will help us to overcome our fleshy desires and live for Christ, and Him alone.
Friends, as I said this morning, today’s Scripture passage is pretty difficult. There is a lot of teaching in there, and much of it feels totally outwith our grasp. But let us not forget that, in all of this, we are working with Jesus, not against Him. He is not standing there, waiting for us to make the smallest mistake before condemning us, rather He is there waiting for us to stumble so He can help us up.
This week, I have failed in part of this passage. This week, I suspect you have too. The likelihood is that, next week, I will again fail in some way - but we must press on, ever holding to this desire, to live according to the commandments of God, to live in a way that channels Jesus for those we encounter. For in so doing, we will live lives worthy of the Gospel, in so doing we will treat others as Jesus would have us treat them, and in so doing we will store up our own treasure in heaven.
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. (Jude 24-25)