2 Timothy 4:3-4

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Stories can be pretty fun. Stories can be really interesting, and stories can be really compelling. But have you thought about the stories that are being told in our world today, and the stories that we tell ourselves in our own heads? And just because a story is interesting or even compelling, it doesn’t make that story true. If you look around the world today, there are stories that are being told that about history or about the movements in our world, about what is good, what isn’t good, and they can be told pretty well in pretty interesting, compelling ways. But we need to ask, okay, does that story actually match the truth of God’s Word? Does that story that’s going on in my head about who I am and how I should relate to other people, does that actually match what God says?

Consider Second Timothy four, three to four. It says,

For there will come a time when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, because they have itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in line with their own desires. They will also turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

to false stories. There are stories in our world about progression and just where the world’s going and saying, “You should get on board with what the world is doing.” And that might sound good, but while the world may be doing it is actually what God says in His Word. Is that big picture story of what He created us for and what He has planned for the world?

There can be stories that develop even within the Church, a story that sounds good, but actually it’s just scratching our itching ears. For instance, sometimes I know and have conversations with Christians, it can be really easy for us to talk about what’s wrong with everyone else out there while pumping ourselves up, which does that really fit what God would have us do when God actually would have us first and foremost confess our own sin, trust in Him, and then lovingly and with care talk to others and share what His truth says with others? And there can be stories that go in our own heads, stories that say that one pump us up with self-righteousness or maybe the opposite, stories that say, “I better do good enough so God loves me. I’ll never be where I can be feeling good about who I am and how I relate with others ’cause I just mess up and mess up and mess up. God has no plans for me. I don’t have anything to offer.”

All of those things that we can have in our heads, you know, “I can’t be used part of God’s plan because I’m not gifted like this person,” those are stories that go on in our heads. But check them all with what God’s Word actually says. God’s Word says that you are right with Him simply through believing in Christ, that if you have been brought to faith in Christ, the Spirit has given you that faith, which means the Spirit lives inside of you. The scriptures say that the Spirit now is working in you. God doesn’t need big impressive things in this world to do His work. Actually, He often chooses the surprising, the weak to shame the wise. God’s ways are so different than the stories that the world often tells us, and even the stories in our own heads.

So think about what story you’re reading, watching, listening to, even telling yourself today, and ask yourself, “How does this story fit with the truth?” Because God’s Word is full of His truth. It tells us the true story, the story of a God who created us to partner with Him, to have life with Him, who even when we turn away from Him, He enacted a plan to set us right with Him again. Jesus has brought that plan forward, living the life you and I were meant to live, dying for us and rising again. We are now filled with His Spirit as we walk as children of light in this world, and there will be a day that Jesus returns and sets it all right. Of course, there’s much more to the story than all of that. The Bible is full of it. But you and I get to discover that story, remember that story, and live that story. Check the story.

1 Peter 2:9, Colossians 3:10, 1 Corinthians 12:7

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So if you look in the mirror, what do you see? How do you think about yourself? And when you enter a room, what do you bring? What do you have to offer? What can the world see in you?

Now, on the one hand, what do people see and what should we see? We can see that we we’re imperfect.

We have sinned in different ways. And so when we enter a space, do we bring that sin with us? Do we do that sometimes? Yeah.

Is everything that we contribute to a group of people going to be positive?

No.

But that’s not all we see. Think about 1 Peter 2:9.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the people who are God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. [1 Peter 2:9]

See, when you look in the mirror, you can see that you are someone who was in darkness, and yes, we still have things sometimes that we do that match the darkness, but you’ve been chosen. You’ve been called out. You have been brought out of the darkness into God’s light.

When God the Holy Spirit sparked that faith in your heart, that is a faith that believes that Jesus entered into the darkness for us, that he took our sin from us, that he died on that cross and rose again to give new life to us. And so now, through faith in Christ, you are a person of light.

And when you and I enter a room, and we enter that room as someone who, yes, we were part of the darkness, but that’s not who we are anymore. When we are honest about how we have fallen short, but confident in how Jesus is everything that we were meant to be, when we celebrate him and can have full confidence that God is with us today and has given us life for eternity, we proclaim his praises in a world that is dark.

We are people of light in a world of darkness, and when you go wherever you go, you bring that light with you. Not only that, think about what Colossians 3:10 says. It describes how we have

put on the new self, which is continually being renewed in knowledge, according to the image of its Creator. [Colossians 3:10]

We were created to be in the image and the likeness of God, to be able to live in a way that showcases his character, his goodness, his love. And you and I now, by the power of the Spirit, are being renewed in that image. God the Holy Spirit gives us little glimpses of what we were meant to be. And when we live our faith, when the Spirit moves through us, we are actually bit by bit being renewed in the way we live, that we actually start to live in a way that starts to look like God, which means then when you enter a room, when the Spirit works in you, the people around you can actually catch glimpses of God too. Not that you’re God. Don’t want to make that confusion. But when God the Spirit renews you to begin to live like him and to live in his image, you actually start to show the world the image of God, of what God looks like.

And then think about this one, 1 Corinthians 12:7.

Each person is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. [1 Corinthians 12:7]

Manifestation describes something that is seen, that is visible, right? So 1 Corinthians 12:7 says that each person has a way that God the Holy Spirit is visible. So when God the Holy Spirit empowers you to live out your faith, to use your God-given gifts, actually the people around you as you are using those gifts, as you are living out your faith, are catching glimpses of God the Holy Spirit working through you.

So what do you see when you look in the mirror? Beyond the sin and those things, those broken things, of course we see those things, but actually those are not the primary things that you and I should see. Because you were in darkness, but you’ve been called out now to the light to proclaim him, to show his light. You are being renewed in his image. The Spirit shows up in you. That’s what you can begin to see, and actually when you enter a room, you and I, we can have a sort of humble boldness, humble audacity even, that not that I’m thinking, “Oh, look how good me,” but actually the very opposite, that when God the Holy Spirit is working in me, whether it’s proclaiming the gospel, whether it’s the Spirit moving through me, that actually the world can catch a glimpse of God as God works through me. That’s what you bring into a room.

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Judas Iscariot has become a cultural code word for betrayal. We don’t know the circumstances of how Judas became a disciple. We do know from John chapters 12 and 13 that he handled the group’s money bag, and unbeknownst to the other disciples, he stole from it. John even brings out the contrast between that attitude and Jesus’ attitude and his ministry of selfless sacrifice and generosity. Judas, of course, is most well-known for betraying Jesus, for contracting with Jesus’ opponents to have Jesus arrested at an opportune time. But when Judas realizes that these opponents are gonna put Jesus to death, he is remorseful. He is crushed by his sin. He tries to return the money, but then in his despair he commits suicide. He dies in unbelief. He hangs himself.

Now, Judas very likely was a believer at one time, and he certainly wasn’t predestined by God to die in unbelief. God knew that Judas would take this action. But Judas’ case even illustrates how deep and thorough Jesus’ sacrifice was. Judas could have brought about the death of God’s Son through his treacherous betrayal, and yet on the other side of Easter, he could have found that the death he brought about actually paid the penalty for his sin of betrayal.

We have a similar case in Simon Peter, who didn’t lead to Jesus’ death in that way, but did deny knowing Jesus. He denied Christ when Christ was being put on trial. And he’s also sorrowful and remorseful, but on the other side of Easter, he is restored and forgiven, and given a place of great leadership as if to say, “You, Peter, have a deep insight into my grace. You need to be the one leading in telling this to others.”

That could have been Judas’ future, and his tale is a cautionary one for us. You know, our sins also have brought about Jesus’ death, in that his death paid the penalty for our sins. He suffered the punishment for them, but he exhausted that punishment from God. So no matter how deep you’ve fallen, no matter how shameful your sin, keep the faith. Find yourself in Christ, who risen from the dead proclaims even that sin is forgiven by God.

Now, after the death of Judas Iscariot and after Jesus later ascends into heaven, the disciples choose someone to replace him among the 12 to bring that number back up to 12. His name is Matthias, and he would have been also an eyewitness to all Jesus did, though he wasn’t one of the 12 originally. But clearly the disciples are very careful to maintain that number because they understand themselves to be, the leaders of the true continuation of God’s people, modeled after the 12 sons of Jacob. The head, the spiritual leaders of a new 12 tribes of God’s people, the Christian Church, which is founded on this conviction that Christ’s sacrifice for sin has no end.

1 Corinthians 6:11, 1 Peter 5:7, Proverbs 3:5-6, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Esther 4:14

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You’ve been carrying a lot, and it’s pretty heavy. Trying to be strong for everyone and everything, trying to figure out what to do next, how to work this all out, and feeling like if you don’t do it, if you don’t make it happen, everything is going to fall apart. Oh, and on top of that, you’re struggling with your own inner wrestlings, with your own failings, your own sin, your shame, and your guilt. You’ve been carrying a lot, but do you have to?

Do you have to carry all of this?

What does God say? Does God say that’s on you, that’s your burden? He doesn’t. I mean, think about 1 Corinthians 6:11.

It says,

And some of you were those types of people. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11)

Did you notice how it says, “And some of you were those type of people”? Yes, we were stuck in our sin, our guilt, and our shame, but that’s not who you are. You were washed. Jesus took your sin on himself. He absorbed it. He paid for it. As far as God’s concerned, it all died there with Jesus. And when you think about that perfect life of Christ, how he rose again to new resurrection life, you now, as someone who is baptized into Christ, have been clothed with Christ. God sees you through that perfect life of Christ. You are clean. You are washed. There’s no shame for you to carry. There’s no guilt for you to hold on to. There’s no need to beat yourself up. You have forever life with God and a new life with him even today, so you don’t need to carry guilt or shame. And when you think about all the things going on in your life, do you need to carry that? 1 Peter 5:7 says,

Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. [1 Peter 5:7]

You don’t need to carry what’s all going on in your life and your world. He says cast it on Him. Put it on Him. He will carry it. Trying to figure all those things out, that weight of, “Okay, how is this going to work?” Proverbs 3:5-6,

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight. [Proverbs 3:5-6]

When you’re trying to be strong for everyone and everything, remember 2 Corinthians 12:9,

And he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, because my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will be glad to boast all the more in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may shelter me. [2 Corinthians 12:9]

You don’t need to be strong for everyone. Actually, in your weakness is when you really experience God’s strength. And what about that feeling of, “Okay, so many people are depending on me. If I don’t do it, if I fail, then it all falls apart”? One of the things I love about the account of Esther in the Book of Esther is that she is told,

If at this time you keep totally silent, relief and deliverance for the Jews will spring up from somewhere, but you and the house of your father will perish. Who knows whether you have become queen for a time like this! [Esther 4:14]

Now, there’s some significant things if she doesn’t step up. He says you and your father will perish, so that’s… is weighty. But notice it started off by saying, “If at this time you keep totally silent, relief and deliverance for the Jews will spring up from somewhere.” So even if she didn’t step up, God would still carry out his plan. He would still rescue his people. He would still move things forward for bringing a savior. He didn’t depend on Esther, but he did invite Esther to be part of what he was doing.

God never asked us to be God. He actually just invites us to trust him and be part of what he is doing. It’s not on you to make sure all of this works. That’s always on God. He just invites you to be part of the work he’s doing. So what are you carrying today? Think about what you’re carrying. Think about what is heavy on your shoulders, on your mind, on your heart, and ask yourself, ask God, look to his Word, “Do I really need to carry all that?”

Romans 13:1

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The 2nd Simon is only mentioned in lists of the disciples. Therefore, the main focus on him comes from this defining label given to him, the Zealot, Simon the Zealot. We think this most likely refers to his political orientation. The Zealots were a political religious group in Israel around the time of Christ. And here’s what a Roman Jewish historian, Josephus, tells us about them.

“They agree in all other things with the Pharisees, but they have an indestructible attachment to liberty and say God is to be their only ruler and Lord.”

So they’re fervent Bible-believing people, but they are resistant to any Roman or Greek influence on Jewish life, and they would sometimes participate in armed rebellions against those ruling authorities. So where were the Zealots right? Where were they wrong? Well, Scripture is very clear that we are to obey and honor the established authorities over us in the world because God works through them to provide us a certain level of peace and order, justice, and prosperity, even if those rulers themselves are not Christian, may participate in inmoral things, or promote things that go against God’s Word. Here’s what Paul wrote in Romans 13,

Everyone must submit to the governing authorities. For no authority exists except by God, and the authorities that do exist have been established by God. [Romans 13:1]

Remember, Paul is writing that in reference to the very same Roman government the Zealots were trying to overthrow. But the Zealots did have a valid concern. There was always this tension about how much the Jewish people, believers in God’s Word, could integrate into these cultures in which they lived, in this case, the Roman Greek culture, and still remain faithful to God’s Word. And man, is that an evergreen question. We still struggle today as Christians to ask, how much can we really participate in and accept our American, Australian, Canadian, Irish culture, whatever it is, and still take it captive to God’s Word and remain faithful to him? So that was a valid concern.

What I really want us to focus on from Simon is that we all live, or we Christians, both live as believers in the spiritual kingdom, but also as citizens in the political sphere.

And just as we find a variety of personalities and socioeconomic levels, professions among the disciples and in the church, we should also expect varying political convictions. We can be faithful to God’s Word and yet may have different opinions about how we should order human life in the world in the most effective way. Now, what Christ does convict us of is making politics into an idol, a form of salvation. If I can just get this political program or this political figure enacted or in power, everything will be great. It’ll be heaven on Earth. Well, no. All of this is still infected with sin, serves only an earthly purpose, and Christ comes so that we would not have ultimate faith in our political goals, but in him, who gives eternal treasures, the gifts of heaven and forgiveness of sins, peace with God. And so he tells us, Don’t sacrifice what is heavenly and eternal for what is earthly and temporary.

But the final point I want to make is though Simon is known as the Zealot, and this might have been as much to distinguish him from Simon Peter as anything else, I expect that his political views softened over time, so that he who was once so zealous for a renewed, fervent Jewish kingdom now turn that zeal toward promoting the kingdom of grace, the kingdom of Christ.

Father in Heaven, Thank you for another day of your grace and mercy. Thank you for all of the amazing blessings you give us. On our own we cannot earn your favor, we continue to make mistakes and act against your will. Yet, you sent Jesus to die on the cross to take those sins away. And by his resurrection we know that you don’t hold those sins against us.

We praise and thank you for your boundless love. We pray that you continue to protect and guide your people, grant them wisdom, and bless their efforts in all the various tasks you’ve given them to do. Let them continue to be a light to the world, serving you and serving those around them. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Ephesians 2:2,4-6, 6:12

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It feels like there’s something working against you. Like there’s this power at work. And even working within your own mind, like for some reason there are these things that are just… You end up doing them. It’s like something takes control of you. What is that? Is that just a made-up thing, or is that real?

It’s real.

There are real powers at work in this world. And not just fighting against you, but actually working to control you. So in Ephesians chapter six, in verse 12, it says,

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but… [Ephesians 6:12]

And then it goes on to talk about spiritual powers. But notice the way they’re described.

against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. [Ephesians 6:12]

So some of these spiritual powers are actually described with authority terms, that the spiritual powers of darkness want to rule over you and want to have authority over you. And, and this is kind of a crazy thing to think about, but if you go back earlier in the Book of Ephesians, it talks about how when you and I were

against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. [Ephesians 2:2]

We were actually born in a situation where we were underneath the authority of the enemy, of dark powers, of the Satan.

Not born being part of the kingdom of God, but actually born underneath the power, the authority of darkness, of sin, of death. And so when you feel like there’s something at work in this world, there’s something fighting against me, there’s something trying to control me, there is. And it’s good for us to be aware of that, to recognize that when we interact with people, when we look at what’s going on in our nation and our world, that there really are sinister forces at work. But as we think about that, I know that can be kind of a scary thought, but it doesn’t have to be. ’Cause Ephesians also talks about, in that same chapter too, it says in verses four to five,

But God, because he is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved! He also raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. [Ephesians 2:4-6]

You and I were underneath that power. But through faith in Christ, not anymore. Christ is God Himself who became human, to be the human who never submitted to the powers of darkness in this world. Think about how Jesus was tested in the wilderness by that dark power, by the Satan, and He never once fell for it. He always withstood. And throughout His life, He always withstood so that He could go then to that cross, wearing a crown of thorns, by the way, so that He could conquer the powers of darkness. He died there, but then rose again to show He defeated the powers of darkness in this world. And now through faith in Christ, we belong to the Kingdom of God.

The dark powers, the dark forces do not have authority over your life.

Jesus does.

And the one who has authority declares that you are forgiven, you are right with God, you have life forever with God, and now you don’t have to follow the ways of this broken world. You are united with God, seated with Him in the heavenly realms. You have this position of power and authority with Him. Do we still struggle with sin? Absolutely, ’cause our sinful nature is still underneath that influence. But that’s not who you are. Doesn’t define you. It’s not your eternity. It’s not who you are today. So we can recognize the powers at work, recognize that there’s something trying to fight against me, but then we can declare and know fully that Jesus has defeated that power, that you do not belong to that power anymore.

You are part of the kingdom that has overcome.

John 3:30, Luke 17:10

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The disciples Jude, which is a form of the name Judas, but he’s not Judas Iscariot, this man’s also called Thaddaeus. Jude or Thaddaeus and James, son of Alphaeus, different from James son of Zebedee. They’re mysterious characters to us. They’re two disciples of Jesus, but we don’t know much about them from scripture. Christians over the years have tried to put them in a fuller context. Maybe they were brothers, maybe they were cousins of Jesus some have said, but we really don’t know.

What we can more safely assume is that after Jesus’ Ascension and after Pentecost, all the disciples, except for Judas Iscariot, went and carried out Jesus’ commission to preach the gospel to all the world, and went in different directions and did just that. Now, in the New Testament we have a couple of those avenues tracked out for us, especially the work of Peter and later Paul, but the other disciples were doing similar work that wasn’t recorded.

That makes me think of a statement John the Baptist gave. He said, “Jesus must increase. I must decrease.” He was the forerunner of Christ, and he was supposed to recede into the background so people would pay attention to the Lord, Jesus. And I think Jude and James really lived that out.

They were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ ministry. They proclaimed the same gospel we hear Peter and Paul proclaiming in the Book of Acts. That Jesus was God’s Son who came and fulfilled the law for us to be our righteousness for the things we’ve done and the things we failed to do that make us guilty before God. He did atone for all of our sin. He rose from the dead so we can be assured of God’s peace and a place in heaven. Yet we don’t have books extolling their work or spelling it out in detail so that we can praise them today in that kind of specific detail. Instead, I would say we have evidence of their work in the faith of certain people in the world. You know, there were people that these men reached whose eternal futures and the eternal future of future generations in their families was totally changed because they came and brought them the message about Christ. But they were pleased to have themselves recede into the background of biblical history and even our knowledge about them today as long as Jesus would increase in the hearts and lives of these people.

You be of the same mind. Hold the conviction of the true faith in Jesus, fulfill your callings faithfully in life, and let your light shine. Be willing to tell people how meaningful your faith is to you and what assurance it gives you, ultimately embodying the attitude Jesus told us to have in Luke chapter 17. “We are unworthy servants. We have only done what we were supposed to do.” Say with John the Baptist following the example of Jude and James, “Jesus must increase. I must decrease.”

John 6:28-29, Ephesians 2:8-10, James 2:17

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Pastor, that Bible verse I read this morning in my Bible reading says that we’re gonna be judged by our works.

What if I haven’t done enough?

How will I know that I’m actually going to be with God forever? ’Cause I’ve messed up a lot.

I get asked that question every so often. I have people share that with me every so often because there are some verses in scripture that talk about being, you know, judged by our works.

What do we do with those? What is the role of our works? What do we think about them?

Well, while there are some verses that talk about, okay, there are your works, we have to see them in the greater context of what scripture is saying.

Let’s start here with John 6:28-29.

So they said to him, “What should we do to carry out the works of God?” (John 6:28-29)

So they’re asking specifically about works, right?

Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God: that you believe in the one he sent.” (John 6:28-29)

At its core, the work of God isn’t actually about doing different things for God. It’s simply believing in the one he has sent, believing in Jesus, in his life, his death, his resurrection, and even that is a gift from God.

Ephesians 2:8-9 makes it very clear that there aren’t special things you need to do to set yourself right with God.

“Indeed, it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

And so there aren’t these special works you have to do to have confidence before God. But then what about the verses that talk about works? What is the role of works? Well, Ephesians 2:8-9 goes on to verse 10, and in verse 10 it says,

“For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Do you see the progression? You’re saved by grace through faith. This is not by works, so you’re right with God, not by works, and it talks about being saved by by faith. It’s a gift of God, and then it talks about the works. See, the the works are actually part of the gift. They’re the result of being saved. When you’re set right with God, now you get to live life from God, partnering with God, embracing what God has for you. The works come as the result, and because they come as the result, there are verses that talk about works being some fruit of your faith.

So for instance, if you go and look at James 2:17, here he doesn’t use the fruit language, but he also talks at how faith, if it is alone, it has no works, is dead. If you believe in Jesus and have life with God, it’s going to show up in your life. You’re gonna live it out in different ways, but you live it out not to earn from God, but because you are right with God. And you don’t have to look at your life and say, “Okay, have I done enough?” That’s… That would be the very opposite of what these works are meant to be. They just simply are a sign, a fruit that you are saved. You can never do enough work to be saved, and you don’t have to.

Jesus has already done the work for you. He has lived that complete life. He laid it down and died on a cross, where on that cross he said, “It is finished.” He rose again and set you right with God simply through believing. That’s the ultimate work of God, which is even a gift by the Spirit, and now works flow from that, showing that you’re saved, never earning you being saved. That’s the role of works.

Matthew 4:18-20, Colossians 4:5-6

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Did the disciples know Jesus before they became disciples?

Almost certainly, yes. In the gospel accounts, we get Jesus approaching people, telling them to follow him, and immediately they leave everything, their jobs, their families, their homes, and embark on this full-time training for ministry with him. But we should assume that the gospels are selecting events so that we understand why these 12 men are following Jesus for the rest of the account. Instead, we should think that there was familiarity and casual teaching between Jesus and these men before they became full-time disciples. Some of them we know came from John the Baptist and were introduced to Jesus that way. But let me give you one of these accounts taken from Matthew, chapter four.

As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother, Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed him. (Matthew 4:18-20)

But this would not have been the first time Jesus would have encountered these men. Why would they, leave their nets, leave their father, their business venture, their families at a moment’s notice to follow Jesus? Now, this takes nothing away from the Holy Spirit’s power in the word to say that Jesus saying, “Follow me,” was not this thunderbolt that brought about not only new spiritual faith, but a new commitment and direction in their life. And I would argue that seeing their callings that way gives us an unrealistic expectation of how people come to faith and grow in their Christian commitment today. We see people around us who might not have faith, and perhaps we would get the impression that if I just lay down the one good Bible passage, that’s gonna trump all of their unbelief and former habits, and they’re gonna immediately come to faith and become committed Christians.

Well, instead, we find a much more normal looking process of coming to faith, even though that is an instant moment. You’re either in the faith or out of it.

And also questions, skepticism, patience, love needed in that process. Also, from that moment of faith, there may be a growth in commitment that happens. Remember that Matthew was called from his tax collecting booth. He was still kind of engaging in this maybe sinful enterprise even though he knew who Jesus was and had faith in him. Maybe Jesus had been planning this active traveling ministry, and it was finally Jesus’ call that he was ready to go, and he wanted Matthew to come with him that impelled him and encouraged him to leave that profession behind.

So Paul gives us a good mindset to keep in mind as Christians as we deal with others who might be coming into or exploring the Christian faith. He says in Colossians 4,

Walk in wisdom in the way you act toward those on the outside, making the most of your opportunity. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you know how you are to answer each person. (Colossians 4:5-6)

May the Holy Spirit open your eyes to see the eternal importance of some of your relationships, but also let your speech be seasoned with Jesus, crucified for our sins, raised so that we can have forgiveness for the past, peace with God in the present, and a living hope for the future.

Proverbs 9:10, Genesis 3:4-5, John 10:10, Psalm 34:8

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So you’ve been really trying to live out what God wants you to do because you know He is God and you are not. He’s in charge. He’s the boss, so you should do what He says, and if you don’t, after all, He has the ability to have there be consequences.

There’s value to that.

Or maybe you’ve been trying to do what God wants because you believe in Jesus. You’re a Christian, and you want to live a life of thanks. You know you’re supposed to show your thanks to God, and so you try to do what God wants you to do.

There’s value to that.

But what is missing in both of those?

Something is missing.

See, when you and I were brought to faith in Christ, we were set right with God. Jesus died for your sins and mine, rose again to set you right with God. But that also means that you have a restored relationship with God, and that now makes a difference for how we live and how we think about how we relate to God. If you go back to the scene where Adam and Eve turn away from God, when they are standing there at the tree of knowledge of good and evil, an opportunity to trust God, which actually is how they would gain true wisdom, because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, (Proverbs 9:10) and wisdom has to do with really living well. If they were to trust God, it would be an opportunity to really grow in life and in living and all these things. But when the serpent appeared before them, the serpent pushed and said, “Hey, did God really mean this to be a good thing?” Or let me read it to give you the exact statement.

The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die. In fact, God knows that the day you eat from it, your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)

In other words, God is holding out on you. He’s not good. You can’t trust Him. If you really want life, if you really want goodness, you have to do it your own way, and that’s what broke everything. So now, as someone who has been brought to faith in Christ, who has this relationship restored, part of the restoration is now I get to trust that God is good. That God isn’t holding out on me. And so then obedience isn’t just that I should obey because He’s God. I certainly should. And obedience isn’t just, okay, He could have consequences for that. Absolutely, he is God, there are. And obedience isn’t even just I’m supposed to say thank you.

The heart of this restored relationship means now that I believe and know that God is good, that He created me, that He designed life, that even when I turned away from Him and went towards death, Jesus has now restored life to me, and I get to receive life from God again.

It’s like Jesus said in John 10:10,

“A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

He is the source of life. He is the source of goodness, and we now get to begin to trust that. Now, does that mean that when we obey, everything is going to go smoothly? Of course not. We live in a broken world. Does that mean that God’s going to just prosper you with all kinds of great things through obedience? No. But as we live out our lives of faith, we do get to begin to taste life as it was meant to be, where we do walk and trust our Lord. It’s like Psalm 34:8 says,

“Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is everyone who takes refuge in Him.” (Psalm 34:8)

We get to trust that He designed life, He has given us life again, and that there will someday be a point where we get to experience life in all of its fullness, the way it was meant to be, the way it was designed to be, where we live life from our God who has given us everything good, because He is good.

That’s why we obey.

John 1

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Did the disciples know each other before they were disciples? In many cases, yes. The disciple Philip is a great case study of this. We’re told in John 1:44 that Philip was from Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee, also the hometown of Peter and Andrew. Bethsaida was not a particularly large place. These men would have no doubt known each other. Peter and Andrew were business associates with James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Then Philip is also mentioned in connection with Nathaniel. They’re next to each other in all the lists of disciples we have in the New Testament. John 1 confirms that they also had a connection before they both became disciples of Jesus. So just there, we have six men, Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Nathaniel, who’s also called Bartholomew. Six of them came from an already existing social circle before they became disciples. Now, that wasn’t the case for all the disciples, but let’s focus on these six.

Jesus’ ministry, of course, was unique. There’s only one time in human history when the Son of God was in the flesh under the law to fulfill it for us, fulfilling all of God’s Old Testament scriptures, leading up to his sacrificial death for our sins and his resurrection to pierce the veil through death, this great consequence and fate because of our sin, through to eternal life. Because of his work, we have peace with God, the assurance of his care, and finally an entrance into glory. Yet, all ministry that happens in the church is really just rippling out from that core finished work of Jesus. So we can make applications from the social dynamic of Jesus’ disciples to the church today.

All of these disciples knowing each other helps us set Jesus’ ministry in more of a normal social setting and really illustrates how the church has grown and expanded outside of its current borders in all ages. That Jesus’ ministry and those who gathered around him were gathered through family connections, business associations, the communities they belong to, and that’s still true today. The healthiest, stablest growth that happens in the Christian church happens through personal connections. Now, we should be aware there can be both benefits and a couple drawbacks to having such a tight connection with fellow Christians.

What are some of the drawbacks? Well, we see among the disciples that they did actually import some of their former rivalries, jealousies, maybe ranking in their social group into their interactions as disciples. We know the disciples discussed among themselves who was the greatest, and Jesus shut that down very quickly. James and John asked Jesus for these positions of great power in his kingdom.

We’re reading into it a little bit, but we can almost picture them having Peter and Andrew, Peter, this natural leader rising among the disciples, kind of threatening their position, and they wanna clinch these two positions of power before Peter and Andrew take their place. So we don’t wanna emulate them in that way.

But we also recognize benefits of being closely connected to fellow Christians. A connection to fellow Christians means that our connection to the church is reinforced by our relationships. Communication can become easier in the church. Even conflict resolution can go better when we have some personal trust already built up with the people around us in our congregation. So leverage that in your life. Yes, connect to Christ through his word and sacraments, but where does that happen? It happens in a local Christian congregation. So also connect to Christ’s body, the church, the people there, and then I would say once you’re a part of that body, also be the hand of Jesus reaching out to those who don’t know Christ, but who are already in your circles of trust.