Church Is Not About You!
A series on the “one another’s”
Part 2 – Devoted to one another
Romans 12:10
I. Introduction
-Earl C. Willer tells this story of two men who were best friends:
-Though Jim was just a little younger than Phillip, and often assumed the role of a leader, they did everything together. They even went to High School and college together.
After college, they decided to join the Marines. By a unique series of circumstances they were sent to
One sweltering day during a fierce battle, amid heavy gunfire, bombing, and close-quarters combat, they were given the command to retreat. As the men were running back, Jim noticed that Phillip had not returned with the others. Panic gripped his heart. Jim knew if Phillip was not back in another minute or two, then he wouldn’t make it.
Jim begged his commanding officer to let him go after his friend, but the officer forbid him to, saying it would be suicide.
Risking his own life, Jim disobeyed and went after Phillip. His heart pounding, he ran into the gunfire, calling out for Phillip. A short time later, his platoon saw him hobbling across the field carrying a limp body in his arms.
Jim’s commanding officer reprimanded him, shouting that it was a foolish waste of time and a tremendous risk. “Your friend is dead,” he added, “and there’s nothing you could do.”
“No sir,” Jim replied, “I got there just in time. Before he died, his last words were ‘I knew you’d come.’”
II. The Analogy
-“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love”
-Being a part of a family is something that most people can identify with. This is why Paul wrote the exhortation of being devoted in brotherly love, Paul introduces another analogy that helps us understand the functioning body of Christ. This analogy is of a family unit.
-The “body” analogy portrays that Christians are “members of one another”, which was last weeks lesson. That is to say that each believer (no matter what his or her status in life) is necessary and vitally important to God’s order of things. The “family” concept gives us an even greater appreciation of what a functioning church should be.
-The concept of the family adds a dimension of warmth, tenderness, concern, and loyalty—in short, human emotion and devotion.
-To put it another way, in using the “body” analogy, Paul drew upon the physical aspects in the illustration to emphasize the necessity of every member’s participation in the church. When he used the “family” analogy, he was illustrating the emotional aspects of relational Christianity.
-The term “brotherly love” refers to the love that should exist between brothers and sisters within a family unit. Applied to the church, it refers to the love Christians should have for other Christians, as we are a family as well, the family of God. Paul acknowledges the family unit of believers elsewhere in his writings, but let’s look specifically at Ephesians 3:14.
-The term brothers is used to refer to the “Christian family” approximately 230 times, throughout the NT, beginning in the book of Acts. The term isn’t used exclusively by Paul, but also by other NT writers. Luke, James and John use the term on the average as many times as Paul. (Paul uses the body illustration exclusively)
-Here is the approximate number of times per book the term brother or brothers is used in the NT starting with the book of Acts;
-Acts (43), Romans (19), 1 Corinthians (37), 2 Corinthians (12), Galatians (10), Ephesians (3), Philippians (9), Colossians (5), 1 Thessalonians (19), 2 Thessalonians (9), 1 Timothy (3), 2 Timothy (1), Philemon (4), Hebrews (10), James (18), 1 Peter (11), 2 Peter (2), 1 John (17), 3 John (3), Revelation (5)
-The word brothers literally means “from the same womb”. It is distinctly a family term. When it refers to Christians, it means fellow believers. It means we have all been ”born again” in God’s eternal family. We are related to each other through a common heritage. “In love, He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:5)
-Be devoted to one another in brotherly love
-Paul’s use of the words “be devoted to one another” enhances and supports his emphasis on brotherly love and family relationships in the functioning body of Christ. To “be devoted” literally refers to the mutual love of parents and children and husbands and wives. It could be translated “show loving affection” or “love tenderly.” Thus the King James Version reads: “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love.”
-Which ever translation you use, Paul’s point is clear. Christians are to be just as devoted to each other as are the individual members of a close-knit family unit. For we are a unique family unit, we are indeed “blood brothers”, for in Christ, “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:17)
III. Three steps for developing family relationships in our church
-#1 Take it seriously
-Showing affection and love to other Christians and treating them as brothers and sister in Christ does not happen automatically. If it were automatic, we would not have so many exhortations to do so. So our first step must be to take seriously what the Bible says about brotherly love. Take a look with me at the following 5 passages that speak about brotherly love:
-1 Thessalonians 4:9-10
-Hebrews 13: 1-3
-1 Peter 1:22-23
-1 Peter 3:8-9
-2Peter 1:5-7
-#2 Examine your efforts
-Evaluate your attitudes and actions towards other members of your Christian family. To what extent do you show emotion or affection toward each fellow Christian?
-Don’t concern yourself with what others aren’t doing to develop family relationships, concern yourself with what you can do better to promote a family atmosphere.
-The health of the family atmosphere here at FaithChristian begins with you, not the person sitting next to you.
-Paul’s exhortation to the Thessalonian believers in the passage that we read above was to do so more and more. It is focusing on each individual making a conscience effort to promote a family atmosphere.
-#3 Act immediately
-Leave this room this morning and go tell someone that you love them, ask them how you can pray for them, but let them know you care. It is often said, “If you want to love someone more than you already do, or if you don’t love them at all, start praying for them and you can’t help but love them.”
-Don’t wait until tomorrow, because tomorrow turns into next week, then next week into next month, then next month into next year. DO IT TODAY!
-Don’t tell someone that you have told before. Tell someone different.
IV. Conclusion
-If you have problems in your past that prevent you from being open about your feelings, talk to someone that you trust. The problems could be anything from a fear of rejection to a poor family unit background, to being bitter, angry and resentful for some reason, to being self-centered. Whatever the problem seek help from someone you trust. I am here for you, James is here for you, Richard and Craig are here for you, whoever it is
that you feel comfortable with, but find someone. This isn’tsomething to be taken lightly, this is a vitally important role in the functioning body of Christ. It is of utmost importance.
-Take those passages that we looked at above and go home and study them in depth, and ask God to help you take them seriously as being a necessary part of walking in His will.
- Most importantly, don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Be bold, your brothers and sisters in Christ won’t bite, I promise. Take action, don’t wait for action to be taken.
