A Call to Bless - 1 Peter 3:..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. By God's grace, we are going to continue with our study on the first letter of Peter. And we are approaching to the end of the section that we usually read together.

And by his grace, I hope that we may be able to address verses 8 through 12 in chapter 3. We did verse 7 last time that we had the opportunity to be here. This evening, we're going to be addressing verse 8 through 12, and this is going to be the end of that section. And for that reason, I'm going to get you to read not only the usual section that we read, which comes from chapter 2, verse 11, but we're going to go all the way through verse 17 in chapter 3. Paying special attention to that section there in verse 8 through 12 in chapter 3, we're going to be reading God's Word.

This is His all-sufficient, mighty, powerful Word that saves and gives life to all. Chapter 2, verse 11. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles' honourables, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, They may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Be subject, for the Lord's sake, to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God.

Honor the emperor. Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing when mindful of God, one endures sorrow while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it, if when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth, When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continue entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed, for you were a strain like sheep, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.

Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they might be warned without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external. the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear. But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands.

As Zarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. Verse eight. Finally, all of you have unity of mind. Sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart and a humble mind.

Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless for to these you were called that you may obtain a blessing. For whoever desires to love life and seek good dates, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer.

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. Now, who is there to harm you if you're zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.

Yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. Amen. This is the word of God. Now, brothers and sisters, as I said, by God's grace, we are going to be addressing that section, the final section that the apostle starts in verse 8 in chapter 3, in which he is going to give now an exhortation to all of you, he says, that is to the church.

This is going to be the final exhortation. This is not the end of the book, but this is the end of that section. That's why he uses that word, finally, in verse 8. And now he's pointing through the power of the Spirit, his words, Apostle Peter, to the church. This is the final exhortation in that section.

He has already given these four or five exhortations to all Christians to be submitted to governing authorities or to slaves to be submitted to their masters. He has already addressed also the wives and the husbands, that's four areas of the Christian life. And now he comes to the church, the church as a community, the church as a family, the church as those who by grace through faith have been inserted, baptized by the Spirit into the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. But something that I have to remind you, and it's very important for us to understand, not only for this final exhortation here in verse 8, but for all the exhortations of the apostle to external obedience is that all of these exhortations to be submitted to governing authorities, slaves to masters, wives to husbands, and husbands to treat their wives in an understanding way, and now to the church, are rooted in verse 11 and verse 12, which are the two verses that we started reading. And it's important for us to remind and to remember that.

In verse 11, brothers and sisters, Peter has called these beloved brothers and sisters in Pontius, Galatia, Asia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia, To abstain from the passions, the internal passions of the flesh which make war against their soul. He has called them to abstain from the remaining of sin that is within them. And in verse 12, he has now pointed to their external behavior, telling them to keep their conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against them as evildoers, they may glorify God. The Apostle is given this dichotomy in verse 11 and 12, which are the foundation of all the exhortations that the Apostle has given in this section that we have studied. And of course, that is also the foundation for the exhortation that we have for the church, this dichotomy, brothers and sisters, is that those who, by the grace of God, have been begotten again by the Spirit, the Christians, they have an internal war within themselves against the passions of their flesh.

But by the power of the Spirit, they have also been enabled to obey the commandments of the Lord and therefore have an external behavior that is pleasing to the righteous standards of God. That is the dichotomy of the Christian. You see, the person who is not in Christ is a slave to their sinful nature and therefore they are unable to please God. They cannot submit to the law of God according to the Apostle Paul in Romans. But the one who is in Christ, the one who has been born again of the Spirit, he has this battle of two natures, if you want, of these two powers within himself.

The passions of the flesh that are making war against the soul of the Christian, and then this ability, this power, this new nature in Christ, this new life that has been given by the power of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, that enables the Christian to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this is very important, brothers and sisters, because those who are not in Christ, they can only walk according to the flesh. Those who are blinded to the gospel and the powers of the gospel have not operated within themselves, then they are only walking according to the flesh. But those who by the grace of the Savior have been saved, they have both the power of the flesh within them, that's why the apostle calls us to make war against those passions, and the apostle calls us in verse 14 in chapter 1, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. Why?

Because they are still active within us. But also, we have by the Spirit of God the power to walk in the Spirit. So that is, that a Christian has the potential or the possibility to either walk in the flesh or to walk in the Spirit. The more conformed to the image of Christ that a Christian becomes, the more that that person is walking in the power of the Spirit. This is the dichotomy that is within the soul, within the heart of the Christian.

But if a Christian is not walking in the Spirit, then that person can be affected by the passions of that flesh. Now, brothers and sisters, the thing is that everything that you see outside of Christianity, everything that you see outside of Christ and outside of the spiritual things, it's according to the flesh. That means that if a Christian becomes more and more like Christ, that if a person becomes more and more walking in the Spirit like the Savior, that person will become different to the standards of the world. Because if the lost is walking in the flesh, and all the schemes of the system that we see, the evil system, is according to the flesh, then if the spirit visited a soul, a person, then that person necessarily becomes that which the world hates. If the Christian has been saved, he will become like Jesus Christ.

And if they hated Jesus Christ when He came 2,000 years ago, then those who are in Him will be hated just as He was hated. This is what the Lord says in John 15. Those who are in Christ will become like Him. And just as the world hated and rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, because they're walking in the light, and they are salt and light to the world, they will be hated by the world. And for that reason, the Apostle is addressing persecution.

Because persecution, brothers and sisters, is just coming together the flesh and the spirit, and the evil powers of darkness, seeing the light of God operating in the soul of a person, and then they will want to destroy the light that is in that person. That is the nature of persecution. Just as the Lord Jesus Christ was persecuted because He was light, those who are in Him will be like Him, and therefore will be persecuted. That's the whole account of the apostle. That's why when he's calling us to submit to the governing authorities, he says that by doing good, we should put to silence the mouth of the unbelieving.

Or He calls the servants to submit to their masters, to the just and to the unjust. And to the wives, He says that even their submission, their godly submission may have the power to bring conviction to the unbelieving husband and to brought them to Christ. It is because, brothers and sisters, the more that we are in Christ, the more that the shining glory of Christ is deposited in these earthen vessels. And then Christ will, or people will see in those who are followers of Christ, not themselves, but Christ. And this is the purpose of becoming like Him.

Like becoming or bearing the image of the last Adam or the second man is becoming like Him. That's why persecution takes place. And that's why not only the apostle has addressed already all of these commandments or all of these instructions, but that's why this next section that we will be studying by the grace of God, it is about suffering. He is going to take all chapter four to speak about the sufferings of Christians because of that persecution. But before he does that, brothers and sisters, he's going to do something very important.

He is going to give the final address in this exhortation, practical exhortations, to the Church. He is going to give now not only to general Christians, not to wives, not to husbands, not to masters, or to slaves, but now he is going to give this exhortation to the Church. And I'm going to submit to you that if we were going to summarize this whole section that we have here, verses 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. We could say something like this and please pay attention to this because this is the whole message. We could say brothers and sisters that Peter is speaking or is writing here in this section about spiritual qualities or about spiritual characteristics of the Christian, spiritual attributes of the true Christian.

that can only be developed within the context of the local church. The apostle is addressing here from verse 8, primarily in verse 8, but in the whole section, is spiritual qualities, or spiritual attributes, or spiritual characteristics of the Christian, of the true Christian, that can only be developed within the context of the local church, and not only that, that are necessary. to respond to hostility, to respond to persecution, to respond to the tribulations of the world in righteousness, in a pleasing way to the Lord. I don't know if you see the depth of what I have just said, brothers and sisters, because I have connected the individual Christian and his righteous response to persecution through the context of the local church. That is, that Christians individually are to develop certain spiritual qualities, spiritual attributes, spiritual properties, if you want, that can only be developed within the context of the local church.

And those qualities and those characteristics of the soul of the Christian are fundamental, are necessary for the responding to hostility, for the answering or the acting towards the persecution or the hostility of the world. That is the whole message of what the apostle is trying to do. And if you see, brothers and sisters, basically what I am saying to you, to each one of you, is that the local church is fundamental and it's necessary to please God when we are reviled. That is, that brothers and sisters coming together in the context of the local church is absolutely vital and necessary for the individual Christian to respond in righteousness when persecution or hostility comes on their path or their lives. This is what Apostle does in this whole section, brothers and sisters.

In verse 8, he is going to present to us, and I just want to give you the structure of what he does so that we may understand this statement that I have made. In verse 8, he presents those spiritual characteristics. In verse 8, he gives us those spiritual qualities that are necessary for the soul of the Christian and can only be developed within the context of the local church. So that then in verse 9 he tells us how we are supposed to respond to hostility. And then he's going to give us two reasons in verse 10 and in verse 12.

Brothers and sisters, this is a very important teaching and doctrine of scripture. And I do not want that the imposing system of Western world in which we are individuals and that we want to live our lives in an individualistic way, might place a wall within the teaching of Scripture on your soul. Because we live in a world in which we prefer to be by ourselves. We live in a world in which being an individualistic person or just being just by ourselves, it is more comfortable than residing or belonging to a community. We are okay sharing with our families, even though, you know, like the powers even of evil have infiltrated families and families sometimes are even divided by the schemes of the devil.

But brothers and sisters, the church, is the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, is the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the local church, it is the immediate, it is the immediate perception of the universal church to each one of you. Yes, we love our brothers and sisters who are in China, in America, in Colombia, in South America, in Africa. We pray for them and we are to love them. But the brothers and sisters of the local church are the people to whom we are to love and with whom we are to practice and exercise the spiritual disciplines and these spiritual characteristics that the Apostle is going to mention here.

Now, brothers and sisters, he is going to give us five of them in verse eight. Five of these very vital, vital, very important beloved brothers and sisters. Five spiritual qualities that I have said are only developed within the context of the church and are necessary, absolutely necessary to face hostility and tribulation. Sometimes when we have a list of different things, it's somehow different for us to memorize, but I'm going to try to put them into two categories so that I can put them in your mind and by the power of the Spirit also in your heart. But something that I want you to notice that these five characteristics, beloved brothers and sisters, pay attention to this, please.

These five characteristics that are given here in the Greek or in the original language, there are only five words. We have different words to describe each one of them. But they are simply five different words. So we have here in our Bibles, have unity of mind is the first one. Sympathy is the second one.

Brotherly love is the third one. A tender heart is the fourth one. And a humble mind, that is the fifth one. These are the five spiritual disciplines that I'm talking about. In the original language, these are only five words.

And these five words, brothers and sisters, they are adjectives. An adjective describes what a person is. An adjective describes what a person is. Now, so these things, these five words that we have here, describe what a Christian is not becoming or will be. But these words that we have here describe what the Christian is.

The adjective is describing the being of the Christian. And this is very vital. And this is very important. Not only that, but these words, brothers and sisters, are used to describe the relationship of families in the flesh. So the apostle is using five different categories, five different words to speak of who the Christian is.

And he's attributing these words that are only for family to the congregation. That should tell us a lot. already. And I'm going to try to put them into two categories, brothers and sisters, so that we will see the importance of this. These are, even in the Greek, as I said, they are only one word, each one of them.

And if you see the construction of the words in the Greek, you will see that they belong to two categories. One of them is the mind and the other one is the heart. So I'm telling you, beloved brothers and sisters, I'm telling you, in the authority of the Word of God, that if a person is going to face tribulation and difficulties, that person must develop five, at least in this text, spiritual characteristics that belong to two categories. The first one is the mind, and the second one is the heart. Of the mind, the Apostle says something here, unity of mind.

And he addresses the final word. In that verse he says, a humble mind. Brothers, I'm not speaking to the wind, not even to you as a congregation. I'm speaking to each one of you. That if you are in Christ, you are to have as an adjective of your soul, as a descriptive of your soul, unity of mind and a humble mind.

That is that The church, the local church, is to be single-minded. That is, that the mind of all the people that are within the context of the local church, it is the same mind. Brothers and sisters, this is impossible to accomplish by the power of the flesh. That's why I said to you that you need to understand the dichotomy of the flesh and the spirit if we are going to understand this whole text. Brothers and sisters, people from tribes, from nations, from social backgrounds, from cultural backgrounds, Are the ones that belong to the community of the local church, how are we going to develop, or how are we going to obtain a single mind?

Well, the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2 that those who are in the Spirit, brothers, that they have the mind of Christ. That the mind of Christ is in those who have been redeemed by grace through faith. And the mind of Christ is where all the wisdom of God abides. So that it is that everyone in the church is to point their eyes to the Word of God and the truth of the Word of God in which the wisdom of Christ abides. so that each one of us will develop an acquaintance with the truth of the word of God, and all of us will have the same mind.

Brothers and sisters, perhaps you know this, but brothers and sisters, this has been reduced in Western Christianity to a work of the one who is behind the pulpit. A person that is just bringing the words of God to the congregation. It is a vital responsibility. for the survival of each individual christian within the context of the local church that everyone within the local church will be striving loving desiring the mind of christ in them through the word of god so that the written word of god may become living by faith that that which is written might not only impact your minds, brothers and sisters, but also may impact your hearts. That is the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is not only a mind that corresponds to truth and not to the systems of the world, but it is a humble mind.

A mind that, as our brother said, that does not see self as superior to others, but it's a mind that sees others as superior to him or her, that is interested in the communal or in the collective development of every single member of the church and brothers and sisters. This goes against our flesh. You see, we love to be right. We love to be always correct. Our flesh and the carnality that is within us hates and despise to be corrected, hates and despise to be wrong.

We love to be right. We love to have the mind that is followed. We want to be heard. We want to be listened to. We want to be the ones that are leading and guiding people.

But Christ operates in a complete different way. He came to be the servant of his disciples and of his church. He came to lay down his life. He came to serve others so that others may receive the glorious blessings that were stored for them. This is the singleness of mind, brothers and sisters, that is required and necessary for the entire congregation.

The apostle is going to move from the mind into the heart. But brothers and sisters, let me just tell you that the reason why there is divisions, the reason why there is lack of unity within churches, the reason why simple problems will destroy the unity of the church, it is because within churches there are many minds and those minds are not the minds of Christ. It is because people have brought their personal agendas and their personal things into the context of the church and remove the mind of Christ. If all of us are submitted to that which is written, then that which is written is what unites us and puts us together. Unity of mind and something we know that it is the mind of Christ because this produce humility within our hearts.

It changes everything within us. It kills the pride. When someone comes to you and exhorts you and says, brother and sister, you are in sin. The natural defensiveness of pride or the natural response of a carnal heart to say, I'm not, is changed by saying, brother or sister, please tell me. Where have you seen that my ways do not correspond to the ways of Christ?

Thank you so much for being Preoccupied or worried about my state before Lord, please speak to me preach the word to me Show me where my ways are not the ways of Christ Because I don't I don't want to follow your your advice. I want to follow the advice of Christ I want to have the mind of Christ so that we will be united together the mind cannot do it brothers and sisters without the heart of And the apostle is going to give us three words that, as I said, they are related to the emotions, to the core being of the Christian. We have addressed the mind, the intellect, but these things, these other three things go into the core, into the heart of the Christian. And the first one that he says, he speaks of sympathy. That word literally means, just as the previous one said unity of mind, that word literally means sharing the same feelings.

Sharing the same feelings. That is that the members of the local church have developed a unity, a coming together, a being knit together so deep that the emotions and the feelings are shared. Why? Because it's not theirs anymore. They are Christ's.

So then when a member hurts, just as the Apostle Paul will say in 1 Corinthians 11 and 12, then all the members are also in pain. When there is joy with one of the members, there is also joy with the whole body. When there is something going wrong with one member of the body, something is wrong with the church. Brothers and sisters, you see, there is no such a thing. as one Christian in the church, just walking in the spirit, and then the rest of the church just simply ups and downs in the flesh and in the spirit.

We are all one. This is not about a man or a group of men. This is about the church. And this is actually about one man, but that man is Christ. He's not the church, sympathy, sharing the same feelings.

My heart is your heart. Your heart is mine. And when I weep, you weep. And when we hurt, we hurt together. Why?

Because we are united in the person of Jesus Christ, then the other word, this is tender heart, this speaks of like very internal brothers, very the bowels, very internal aspect of the core being of the Christian to the point that I'm truly concerned about your state. I'm truly concerned about your walking in the Spirit. I'm truly concerned about your conformity to Jesus Christ. It is not that I'm concerned about that you come to church on time and that you go and that I don't know anything about you, but that really within my soul there is a concern for you to walk according to the principles of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is compared there with the other characteristic that is called brotherly love.

That could be summarized in everything, brothers and sisters. Brotherly love. The mind, singleness of mind, and the singleness of our heart. That the church, that the members of the church, it does not matter where they're coming from. It does not matter their social or financial background.

It does not matter the language that they speak. It does not matter. If the church is going to walk in the ways of the Lord, then the church has to come together in a way, in a way that it goes beyond the standards of the world. You see why the light of the gospel is so different to the standards of the flesh? The flesh does not like and does not enjoy the coming together of the persons or the people.

Everything can only be done according to the light of the Gospel. And this is foundational to the being of the Christian. This is what the Apostle says in chapter 1. Please check chapter 1 and you will see how this brotherly love, this brotherly love in verse 22, the Apostle is going to connect brothers and sisters. the reality of the Christian with loving one another.

The reality of the Christian with loving one another. There's a lot of, it's all good there? Okay, verse 22. It says, having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth, Do not let that distract you, brothers and sisters. Pay attention to the Word.

It says, "...having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth..." Probably your Bible translation says they are by the Spirit. "...obedience to the truth by the Spirit, for a sincere, brotherly love..."

Brothers, please, and sisters, do not allow just the repetition of words that come many times for the Christian vocabulary just go above your heads. The fact that our soul has been purified by the power of the gospel, that is our obedience to the truth by the power of the Spirit, This is on 204, I sincere brotherly love, and it says, love one another earnestly from my pure heart. Why? Since you have been born again. Brothers and sisters, you see, it's not that this is an option.

It's that these spiritual characteristics of really and truly loving one another within the context of the church are qualifiers of true salvation. are qualifiers of the true workings of the Spirit in the life and in the soul of a person. Christ does not save a person just simply to give them options about it. Christ saves a person to make him like he is. And this really happens.

Brothers and sisters, this is very concerning, not only for us, but for the church. Because when I see and when I open my eyes and I try to see the state of the church, I see a church that is divided, people that are separated, people that are living their lives according to their own standards, people that are happy just to come on Sunday and then just to play Christianity as a routine, as our brother prayed. But this is not what the Bible really says. If the Spirit of God truly visits the soul of a person, then that person He's not going to be inserted by the power of the Spirit into one body. And that body is the body of the Bride of Jesus Christ.

And Jesus Christ, the Son, the Beloved of the Father, gave His life when He had not to do it. But then He came as an obedient servant, and He did not count the fact that He was God. But He died a dead unto the cross. He made Himself obedient to the law. He became like one of us.

He's God. And He's going to remain into eternity like one of us. so that he will redeem a people unto himself. He gave his life for the church. We give our lives to ourselves.

This is what Christ did. How come those who had been saved will do something different? This is in the core of the Christian brothers and sisters. This is why these things are so important and vital, because these things can only be developed within the context of the church. How are you going to love one another if you are just by yourself?

These things can only be developed within the context of the church. How are we going to have compassion and sympathy if we are just by ourselves, if we are just living our lives by ourselves? It is impossible. So then when persecution comes to the person that is living isolated from the context, the powerful context of the church, then Tribulation will do lots of things in that soul. The Lord knows and everything has been providentially appointed to demonstrate things.

That which is, it is and that which is not. But the context of the church, it is vital and it's important. That's why brothers and sisters, I'm telling you, I'm begging you, I'm telling you from my heart that it is important. That this community of people have their eyes set in the person of Jesus Christ completely in him alone so that our minds will not be ours, but will be his and our hearts will not be ours, but will be his. That we might be able to say, not my will, but your will be done.

That we may have his heart to die and his will to live and to live unto others and to be servants of others. All of these characteristics of the soul, brothers and sisters, define how we answer to hostility in verse nine. In verse nine, the apostle tells us, how are we going to answer to hostility? He says, do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you might obtain a blessing The Apostle says, if these spiritual qualities and attributes of having a singleness of mind, if these attributes of your soul, of having a singleness of heart are within you, then you are not to respond to the world as the world is treating you. You are not to pay evil for evil or reviling for reviling.

You see, brothers and sisters, the importance of these things within the context of the church. Because if these things are not within the context of the church, then fractions and divisions will not happen outside of the church, but actually will take place inside of the church. And I told you from the beginning, the Christian either walks in the flesh or walks in the spirit. And when the Christian is walking in the flesh by following the schemes of Satan out of the flesh, then that Christian is, of course, not walking in the spirit. And then the things of the flesh will eventually manifest.

And not only in the life of that Christian, but also in the church, in the church that he belongs to and that he's inserted to. This is what was happening with the church at Corinth. When the apostle was given all of these admonitions and exhortations, he was given all of this because in the church there was no unity. People were followers of men and people were followers of traditions of men, not of the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, many difficult things were taking place within the church.

But I want to point your eyes to an example that will tell us and speak to us of the importance of developing these spiritual characteristics. So bear with me, please, and go to 1 Corinthians chapter 6, because I want to show you an example of division within the context of the church by not or because we do not have the singleness of mind and the singleness of heart in 1 Corinthians chapter 6. 1 Corinthians chapter 6. Pay attention to what was happening at Corinth. When one of you has a grievance against another, that is, is that single-hearted?

Is that having the same emotions? That is not having the same emotions. That is not having the same heart. When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go too low before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?

And if the world is to be judged by you, are you competent to try tribal cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more than matters pertaining to this life? So if you have such cases, that is of divisions and conflict within the church, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? So people at Corinth were unable to solve their divisions, and therefore they were bringing their cases and their dealings to outsiders to find their solution of their problems, divisions of the church, outside of the church.

Verse 5, I say this to your shame. Pay attention to how it continues. Can it be that there is none or no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers? He's saying there's not someone wise enough and he's not talking about a person who went to university or who went to seminary or who went to whatever you want. He's talking about a person that may have the wisdom of Christ to solve the issue between brothers and sisters.

Verse 6. But brother goes to law against brother and that before unbelievers. to have lawsuits at all with one another, it's already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?

You yourselves wrong and defraud even your own brothers. Brothers and sisters, these are the consequences of not having singleness of mind and not having one heart And that is not the mind of the elder or the preacher. And that is not the heart of the elder or the preacher. That is the mind and that is the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he says, you as a church are supposed to have the wisdom that is necessary to settle the disputes that take place within the church.

You in the church are supposed to have the mind of Christ so that when these things happen, because the flesh is still within you, then you may solve things according to the precepts of Christ. Are you unable to make justice within the church? Are you unable to follow justice according to the principles of Christ? Do you have to take those matters outside of the church? Do you need someone else?

Do you need the wisdom of the world to solve matters that are taking place within your heart? Do you need the wisdom of the unbeliever to come and tell you what to do when the one who has made you, redeemed you and saved you has already told you what you have to do. This is the consequences of not having a singleness of mind and not having a singleness of heart. Let me just point you, just a parenthetical comment. Go to Proverbs 28, please.

Because in Proverbs 28, the author of Proverbs will tell us how to do justice, brothers and sisters within the church. The author of Proverbs will tell us how to do justice within the church or in general in the church. Proverbs 28, verse 5, it says, evil men, or you may have unrighteous men, do not, Proverbs 28, verse 5, pay attention to this, evil men or unrighteous men do not understand justice. The Corinthians were taking their problems to the unbelievers. But those who seek the Lord understand justice completely.

Those who seek the Lord understand it completely. Brothers and sisters, in Christ, in the mind of Christ and in the heart of Christ, There is everything that your soul needs and everything that the bright needs. It is in the person of Jesus Christ. It is in him. It is in seeking the Lord.

It is in following the ways of the Lord. And this is diligently seeking to know him through his word, not only the written word, but the living word in our hearts, being grasped and apprehended by faith in our minds and in our hearts. He has provided everything that we need so that we will walk as a church in singleness of mind and in singleness of heart. Do you think that it was the will of God that his bride will walk according to the ways of the world? Do you think that it was the will of Christ and the will of God that churches will do things according to their own wisdom, according to their own precepts?

Of course not. This is what men and religion and traditions of men have done to the church. But Christ has provided in himself and through his word all the ways that are necessary for you, each one of you, all of us to please no man, but to please God and to please the Lord Jesus Christ. Go back to our passage, brothers and sisters, because having the singleness of mind and having the singleness of heart is what enables us, brothers and sisters, to respond to this hostility. To respond to this hostility in a Christ-like manner.

He says, do not repay evil for evil, or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless for to this you were called, that you may obtain blessings. So the Christian, brothers and sisters, think about this. The person that is walking in the Spirit, The person that is walking not according to his ways, but according to the ways of Christ, when reviling and accusations and persecutions come, they will respond to that, not in the flesh. They will respond in the Spirit, just as Christ did it. Just in the same way that Christ responded to reviling and to accusations and to threats, then the Christian is filled with joy to respond exactly in the same way.

This is what the Lord Jesus Christ says in Matthew 5. If you want to go with me, please, there to Matthew chapter 5 in verse 38. Speaking and quoting even the passage that we read for corporate reading in Matthew chapter 5. Bear with me just with these couple of verses because I really want to bring your attention to that. Matthew chapter 5 verse 38.

This is the teaching of the Savior. You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. That's the passage that we read in incorporated reading of scripture, right? That is under the law. There was retribution.

There was retribution for the sin that was committed so that we were going to give that which was done unto us or the wrong that was done unto us. That was under the law. Verse 39, but I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

And if anyone forces you to go in a mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow And before the carnality of our minds take us, okay, but there are some exceptions, simply take by faith the word of the Lord. Simply take it by faith what he says. Then verse 43, you have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies.

and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven. The Lord Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters, is calling us. to love our enemies and to pray for them. Similar language Luke will use telling us that we are to love them, to pray for them. How are we going to love the ones who love us?

Even the sinners love those who love them. But Christ came to love those who hated Him. And that is the spirit and the mind that the Lord wants us That's why the Apostle calls us here, this dichotomy in verse 9, he says, do not repay evil for evil, do not repay reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, that is pray for your enemy. Love your enemy. Do good unto your enemy, for to this you have been called.

To what have we been called? Have we been called to receive the blessing because we are praying for persecutors? Yes, but we have been called to be persecuted and to respond like Christ responded to persecution. We have been called to be Christ when persecution comes to the door. This is exactly the same words that the apostle had used in chapter 2 verse 21.

Go to chapter 2 verse 21. It says, For to this you have been called. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you may follow in his steps, brothers and sisters. The words of men, the words of a man behind a pulpit are unable to produce what God really intends and wants his people to be and to develop in the spirit. It is only the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who can and the one who can press this upon this upon your heart.

Now, I just want to finish this with these two reasons that the apostle is going to give us. And bear with me and just pay attention to this because the apostle is now going to give us two reasons on why Christians are supposed to endure their persecution and to respond with blessing to those who persecute them. We have been called, just like Christ, to endure persecution and to respond with blessing to those who are persecuting us. And the Apostle is going to quote Psalm 34, and he's going to give us two reasons that start with the word for. In verse 10, you can find for.

And in verse 12, you can find the word for. Two reasons that the Apostle is going to give us on why The Christian is to endure this tribulation while blessing the enemies, while blessing the persecutors. Brothers and sisters, the first one, it is because the definition of a joyful life for the Christian, and he says it here, whosoever desires to love life and seek good dates, the definition of a joyful life or good dates or the life that is to be loved for the Christian, it is not the definition of a good life that the world gives. It is contrary to the world. It is contrary to the schemes of the world.

The definition of the good life or the good dates for the Christian is a life of righteousness. It says the apostle. whosoever decides, or for whosoever decides to love life and seek good dates, he's going to give us three clauses, three aspects, and you can see them there in let him, let him, let him, three times. The first one, he says, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. Brothers and sisters, The joyful life that is walked in the spirit, but not in the flesh.

It's a life that desires Christ. And because he or she desires Christ so much. He and she desires to walk in righteousness according to the precepts of Christ. What do they do? They take the abundance of the heart and make it the abundance of Christ's heart.

So then what the mouth speak is not the evil that abides in the flesh and in the heart of the one that is in the flesh, but that which comes from the mouth of the believer is that which is in the treasure of the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. impossible to accomplish in the flesh. But if the heart of Christ is within us, then the person is going to remove from lying lips, from cursing words, from bad vocabulary, from taking the Lord's name in vain. He's moving from evil, from speaking deceit and things that are not true. Why?

Because the Lord Jesus Christ in himself, he is true. He is the fountain of life and of truth. So then those who are in him will become like him in this aspect. The second point, brothers and sisters, not only the tongue, but also he says, let him turn away from evil. and to do good.

Let him turn away from the things of the flesh and move to walk in the spirit to actually do good works. Not because the good works are that which saves you, but because you are in Christ, you have been empowered to do good works. And good works do not become a burden unto the soul of the Christian, but becomes the manifestation of a spirit of gratitude for what the Savior had done in us and the transformation that we have received. And then the third aspect, he says, let him seek peace and pursue it. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children or the sons of God.

I'm not at peace with the sons of the Father. I'm not at peace like the peace of the world, but the peace of Christ. This peace I leave unto you, not like the peace of the world. Because if a Christian is to have peace in his life, then this Christian has to be at peace with God. Having peace with God we can have the peace of God that surpasses all understanding having peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ and through his blood then the Christian have peace of mind and then just be like Judah in Isaiah 26 that the one who abides in his mind in the Lord he is in ever going peace.

He's not moved. He's not changed because his mind is resting upon thee. because his mind is staying in the Lord Jesus Christ. And this peace that is founded in righteousness is not the peace of the world. And then when we walk according to the righteous standards of Christ, he gives us peace even with our enemies.

The joyful life of the Christian brothers and sisters is a life of righteousness. Let me just address the final one, because then in verse 12, The second reason why the Christians are to endure tribulations and difficulties and bless as they do so, it is because vengeance is of the Lord. It is because vengeance is not ours. It is because vengeance and wrath is of the Lord. James says that we are to be slow to speak, right?

Quick to hear and slow to anger. Why? Because the wrath of men does not produce the righteousness of God. That is, the revenge of men, the avenging of men, do not produce righteousness, but do not avenge, says the Lord, because vengeance belongs to the Lord, and He is the one that He will repay. He will differentiate between the righteous and between the and righteous.

And hear what he says there in verse 12. He says, the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous. That is, he's paying attention, and his ears are open to their prayer. The mouth of the saint is shut to evil, but it's open to lift up prayers to the Lord. So when the mouth of the saint is shut and is closed to evil and to deceit, and it is open to lift up prayers, then the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous.

and the ears of the Lord are inclined to the prayers of the saint. But the unrighteous receives the judgment of the Lord because the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. Just the Lord Jesus Christ said, just in the previous chapter, that he committed no sin, the apostle says, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continue entrusting himself to the one who judges justly, the Lord Jesus Christ.

knew that judgment and righteousness, divine righteousness, will come at a point. But even in the middle of or knowing all of these things that will take place, he had a compassionate heart. He had a heart that it was loving even towards their enemies. Forgive them, for they do not know what they do. And even Stephen, knowing the words of the Savior, when he's being stoned, when his life is being taken in Acts chapter 7, he's beholding the Lord Jesus Christ standing at the right hand of the Father in majesty on high.

And then he says, do not hold this sin against them, against the people that were stoning Stephen. Brothers, that has been the heart of David, the son that we quoted. David was persecuted not only by the king, but he was persecuted by his family. That was the heart of Daniel. That was the heart of the prophets.

That was the heart of John the Baptist. That was the heart of Christ in all of them. And that is the heart that he wants and has determined to be within those whom he has saved. This is very different to the schemes and to the patterns. of the flesh.

You see, brothers and sisters, the more that we become like the person of Jesus Christ, the more different that we are to this world. Amen. Let's pray.