For a complete listing of the Lectionary scripture readings
for these Sundays, go to http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/
These messages are presented by the editors. Complete manuscripts
of these sermons are available for download at www.preachersmagazine.org
This text is a description of Christian community at its best.
The micro viewpoint for this text is Peter’s salvation invitation following
his first sermon. The macro viewpoint is what is happening on the heels of
Pentecost. Pentecost gave Peter a power and purity they had never known before.
The result was threefold:
Conviction was present—People were “cut to the heart”
and asked, “What shall we do?”
Conversion took place—People “repented” and “were
baptized.”
Community was established—“About 3,000 were added
to their number that day.”
The sum of these parts was the birth of the Church.
“Community” derives from two words: (1) commune—to
share life together; (2) unity—oneness in purpose. The Early Church shared
life together with a oneness of purpose that was undeniably a gift from God.
The evidence of that was made compellingly clear by the distinctively different
lives the early Christians led as a result of the gift of the Spirit. We are
told that the Christian community overflowed with compassion—they cared
about the people around them; generosity—their compassion was tangible;
hospitality—they shared a “what’s mine is yours” mentality;
sincerity—they were real and authentic. All of these were visible signs
that something was different in the world. The Church was a visible sign that
Jesus was alive!
A sermon on this passage could include a summary of the identifiable
marks of a Christian community. The essential behaviors of the first believers
must guide the behaviors characterized in believers today. Several questions
that the sermon could address might be: What are the differences between Christian
koinonia and all other kinds of human fellowship? What implications does new
life in Christ have for new lifestyles? What about our life together are undeniable
signs that Jesus is alive?
Jesus knew that possessions have a way of controlling our passions.
Nearly half of the parables Jesus told touch on the subject of money or possessions.
One out of every 10 verses in the Gospels refers to money or possessions.
There are approximately 500 verses in the Bible on prayer and 500 more on
faith. There are nearly 2,000 that deal with money/possession-related topics.
Apparently, Jesus knew that our attitude toward material possessions is directly
related to our spiritual well-being.
This passage begins by describing the prevailing attitude of
the early Christians toward possessions: “No one claimed that any of
his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had” (v.
32b). “There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time
those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales
and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as
he had need” (vv. 34-35). Luke wants us to know that the appropriate
view of possessions is to hold loosely what we have been given so that all
of our resources can be used for Kingdom purposes.
Luke then offers two specific, yet polar opposite examples of
the right use of possessions and the wrong use of possessions. One exemplary—one
disgraceful. The good example was Barnabas, who sold a piece of property and
brought his proceeds to the apostles to be given to the poor. The bad example
was Ananias and Sapphira, who also sold a piece of property, but chose to
keep a portion for themselves while pretending to give the full amount.
There is a right and wrong way to deal with possessions. When
used for good, money is a gift from God. When used for evil, money destroys
the very essence of what God has created for good. So what is the proper purpose
and potential perils of possessions?
A sermon on this passage could deal with at least four different topics:
1. How does an improper focus on possessions lead to sin?
2. How does a misunderstood value of possessions lead to self-sufficiency
and pride?
3. How can a distorted personal view of possessions affect the
greater Christian community?
4. How does God hold us accountable for the inappropriate use
of our possessions?
The Early Church had a problem. They were too successful! They
continued to grow at such a rapid pace they outgrew their mode of operation.
With any significant change in life, good or bad, come the inevitable problems
from both within and without. Whether change will happen is not the question.
Meaning? Change is inevitable. How we will respond to that change is up to
us. Meaning? Growth is up to us.
Up until now the Early Church was made up entirely of Jewish
believers. However, there were two kinds of Jewish Christians: Hellenists
and Hebraic. The Hellenist Jews were those born in lands other than Palestine,
who spoke the Greek language, and were more Grecian in their attitudes and
outlook. The Hebraic Jews were those who spoke the Hebrew language (or Aramaic)
and preserved Jewish culture and customs. They were clearly not the same,
and conflicts arose.
The primary conflict was a disagreement in how the food distribution
was being carried out for the Jewish Christian widows. The Hellenists believed
that the Hebraic widows were being given deferential treatment, even to the
point that the Hellenistic widows were being overlooked and ignored. It was
clearly an issue that unless resolved had the potential to divide the Christian
community. This was a conflict that would test the fortitude and adaptability
of the baby Church. How would they respond? Would they ignore the problem
and hope it would blow over? Would they overreact and make a mountain out
of a molehill? Their response was to release the ministry of the church to
even broader circles of influence. They rose to meet the challenge and were
stronger for it.
Kingdom communities today are very much the same. We must always
be adapting, changing, and meeting one another halfway for the good of the
greater mission. Under the direction of the Holy Spirit every conflict has
a resolution. Every predicament is pregnant with potential. There are possibilities
in every problem.
What the Church has established, the Church may change. From
the first, the Church demonstrated an admirable ability to attend to the essential
and to follow the leading of the Spirit and to respond creatively to new challenges.
A sermon on this passage might portray how the people of God
deal with differences among themselves and change in their world. Even success
brings change. What steps can be taken to manage those problems in a way that
serves people and honors God? What are Christ-centered methods for dealing
with hurt feelings, prejudices, and divisive issues? What does this passage
teach us should be the criterion for servant leadership in the Church today?
This passage begins with the Church under severe persecution.
Following the stoning of Stephen, the believers in Jerusalem were literally
pushed out and scattered throughout the surrounding regions. As the believers
were dispersed, however, so was the gospel, and the mandate of Jesus was fulfilled:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you
will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Forced to leave home base, every Christian
became a missionary. Persecution did not stifle the Church. God worked in
the midst of it to accomplish His goal of spreading the gospel.
One of the safest places for a Christian Jew to go would have been Samaria, because no orthodox Jew worth his salt would have been caught dead there. But that is where Philip, another waiter turned witness, found himself. He proclaimed the message of Christ, and God worked through him to perform miraculous signs and wonders.
Everyone was amazed and many believed. Those who believed included
a powerful man in the region called Simon the Great. The text calls Simon
a magician, but many scholars maintain that Simon was a sorcerer involved
in occultic practices. Simon was enamored with Philip’s supernatural
abilities and infatuated with his extraordinary power. He wanted the same
power, prestige, and glory for himself.
When Peter and John arrived to confirm the work in Samaria,
they prayed that those having been baptized in the name of Jesus might also
receive the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the gift of the Spirit was given
through the laying on of hands, he opened up his checkbook and offered the
apostles money for the same power. Peter issued a sharp rebuke and helped
Simon to realize that following Christ meant more than believing—it also
involves a fundamental change in one’s motives, attitudes, and actions.
Whether or not Simon changed his ways is up for debate. What
is not debatable is that his name lives on in church history through the term
“simony,” which means the buying or selling of a church office.
A current definition of simony might be the desire to have the life Christ
promises without the surrender of one’s entire life to Christ. Jesus
said: “I am the way and the truth and the life” John 14:6. Simony
in the church today happens whenever someone projects themself as someone
great and equates the gift of the Spirit with worldly standards of power and
success (William Willimon, Acts [Atlanta: Westminster John Knox Press,
1988], 70).
A sermon on this text might touch on two important truths about
the Church of Jesus Christ. The first thing is how inclusive Christ’s
gospel is. Everybody gets in: Jews and Samaritans, men and women, magicians
and people who follow them. Anyone can believe in Jesus! Anyone can be baptized!
Anyone can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit! Anyone can serve the church!
Nobody gets left out! Rich and poor, black and white, liberal and conservative.
All are welcome in this inclusive gospel!
But the second truth is just as important. That inclusiveness
also calls for a radical change in those so included, and that radical change
is called repentance. Christians are not magicians who have to gain control
over God to make Him do what they want. Christians are those over whom God
has gained control so they will do what He wants. What is the message of the
gospel in this text? Be included by the love of God, but be changed by the
power of God! One without the other is to get the gospel wrong.
Evangelism in the Book of Acts is viewed as a combination of
heavenly orchestration and human encounters. When the two are added together,
the sum equals divine appointments. That equation can be clearly seen in the
story of Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch. “Now an angel
of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road—the desert road—that
goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza’” (8:26). God orchestrated a divine
appointment between Philip and this eunuch that happened at just the right
place and just the right time. If Philip had hesitated in his obedience, even
for a few hours, he very likely would have missed the window of opportunity
God had provided to intersect with someone who was searching for answers to
spiritual questions.
Acts 10 and 11 is a key passage for Luke’s second book.
We know this because of its significant length (it is the longest narrative
in Acts, a seven-act drama of 66 verses) and by the fact that it serves as
a hinge between the beginning and end of his history.
This passage is another example of a divine appointment, this
time between Peter and a man named Cornelius. There were many reasons why
this encounter would not have happened without God’s intervention. First,
Cornelius lived in Caesarea, which was the Roman capital of Palestine. He
was a Roman centurion, which meant that he was the commander of 100 occupying
Roman troops, and possibly even the head of the Italian regiment of all troops
in Italy. Second, Cornelius was an uncircumcised Gentile and considered unclean
by the Jewish faith. It was unlawful for a Jew to even visit with him, much
less go to his home and share a meal together. But Luke’s description
of Cornelius tells us that God was faithfully at work in his life. He was
God-fearing, generous, and devout in his prayers (10:2). We also discover
that God was faithfully at work in Peter’s life to break down inhibitions,
prejudices, and paradigms contrary to the Kingdom.
This is a story about conversion. A conversion not only of one
who comes to faith in Christ, but also of one who has a change of mind and
heart. There is a conversion from an old way of thinking to a new way of thinking.
There is a broadening of horizons and shifting of paradigms—from a comfortable
religious mind-set to the transforming mind of Christ. This story illustrates
a conversion of a Gentile, an apostle, and a church. Cornelius, Peter, and
the Jerusalem Church needed changing if God’s mission was to go forward.
A sermon on this text could address the ways in which God in
love breaks down walls that separate us from each other in the Church and
from His mission in the world. Whenever we worship the forms of godliness
rather than the one true God, we are in danger of spiritual idolatry. Phineas
Bresee has been quoted as saying: “In essentials, unity. In nonessentials,
liberty. In all things, charity.” As long as our methods do not compromise
the message, freedom and love must be our guiding principle.
Abraham Lincoln once said: “I have been driven many times
to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.”
That was undoubtedly the feeling of the Early Church in this important passage.
The chapter opens with the martyrdom of James on the order of Herod. With
this act, Herod’s approval ratings with the Jews went through the roof.
He decided that arresting and beheading Peter could only make things better.
Herod had Peter arrested, put in prison, and heavily guarded until after Passover
when a public trial could be held.
A wonderfully detailed plot unfolds when God sends an angel
for a jailbreak. The angel awakens Peter from sleep, ushers him past armed
guards and swinging gates to freedom, and sends him on his way. Peter realizes
he has not been dreaming but has actually been miraculously saved. He makes
his way to the home of John Mark’s mother, where he anticipates a prayer
meeting will be taking place. He guesses right. The believers are inside,
behind locked doors, praying for Peter’s dilemma at that very moment
(v. 5). Peter knocks and a servant girl named Rhoda comes to answer the door.
She recognizes Peter’s voice and is so shocked she leaves him standing
on the front porch and rushes back into the prayer meeting to give them the
news. The prayer meeting folks promptly chastise her for interrupting and
question her sanity. When Rhoda insists that she isn’t hallucinating,
they surmise that Peter’s guardian angel might have showed up. Peter’s
persistent knocking finally gets their attention, and they are astonished
to find their flesh-and-blood answer to prayer waiting to get in.
This is a story about surprise. Everywhere you turn someone
is surprised in this narrative. Peter is surprised that he has been rescued.
Rhoda is surprised to find Peter on the front porch. The praying church is
surprised that their prayers have been answered. The soldiers who had been
guarding Peter are surprised when he shows up missing. And Herod is so surprised
to hear of Peter’s escape that he decides to go ahead and have an execution
anyway (v. 19).
The relevancy of this to the Church today makes for ample sermon
fodder. Our churches are full of people who pray for God’s intervention,
yet when God directly answers their prayers, they are surprised by the miracle.
Many have given up the hope for change in a marriage grown cold, for a wayward
child far from God, or a body decimated by disease. They are in their own
prisons, chained by their doubts and fears, completely helpless to change
their desperate circumstances. This sermon can offer hope that God still has
the power to surprise us, and sometimes the answer He is providing is closer
than we think.
This sermon begins a series on holiness that I called “Holiness:
What Our Hearts Desire.” Foundational to any preaching on holiness is
the theological groundwork that is laid on the Bible truth that God is holy
and that God commands us to be holy. The congregation probably has people
who have never given much thought to God’s holiness and certainly not
to the idea that they should be or could be holy. In fact, most people live
with the assumption that “holiness” is a word reserved only for
the pope or at least for supersaints. The congregation probably also has people
who grew up hearing “holiness talk” but concluded that the idea
of holiness was far beyond what they could ever live.
The imperative of this text is simple and clear: “Be holy
because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” What are we to do with that?
It also comes in the context of a rather overwhelming list of rules for the
people, a litany of wicked acts that will cut the people off from God. The
central truth of this text, however, is that we are called to be holy because
God is holy and God’s people are to be holy by being like God in the
world. So holiness is so much about behaving in certain ways. It’s about
the character of God, who wants to answer our deepest heart desire—the
desire for life to be made right again, the desire to be at peace again, and
the desire to have hope again.
The purpose of this sermon is to forward the central idea at
the beginning of this series that holiness is not an add-on but basic to what
it means to be Christian. Holiness is what will finally bring a sense of wholeness
and well-being to life.
God’s call and command to “be holy” is clearly
established in the Bible, being clearly and concisely expressed in the Leviticus
passage of last week. However, across time the story of God’s relationship
with His people is often a rather sad tale of people struggling to measure
up, working hard to figure out how in the world we can possibly be found acceptable
in the sight of a God that is holy.
Hebrews addresses a people whose orientation to this holy God
was based on the law. The law set the standard. The Ten Commandments and all
of the requirements coming out of those commandments stood as a gracious invitation
to enter the holy life. In fairness, they also stood as constant condemnation
to a people who were never able to discipline themselves into holiness.
So we see God’s grace in giving them the chance to come
before Him with sacrifices and offerings, that they might recognize God’s
holiness, recognize their sinful condition, and receive forgiveness from Him.
Year after year, as the text says, the sacrifices of the old system were repeated.
Indeed God created us for holiness, but God also knows what happened to us.
God knows that sin entered the world. God understands that we are not able
to get ourselves back to original creation. So God in His grace did for us
what we could not do for ourselves.
This is the essential theme of Hebrews and especially of this
10th chapter. When we were caught in a never-ending cycle of religious sacrifice,
God provided the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. God never intended for us
to live our lives in a futile attempt to be pleasing to Him. And that’s
why Jesus came and made the journey to Jerusalem. Jesus did not die to make
us morally flawless. He died to make us holy. Big difference. Moral perfection
is about adherence to the law. Holiness is about a heart of love.
Jesus does not desire from us moral conservatism. His desire
is to give us a pure heart. Jesus does not desire from us attempts to think
positive and overcome the hurts of the past. His desire is to give us true
freedom from the past. He doesn’t want our acts of service, He wants
our heart to be so changed that we care passionately about people and serve
them from a heart of love. He doesn’t just want our disciplined devotional
life, He wants to spend time with us as a Friend who loves us. He delights
in us. He loves being with us. That’s the heart of Jesus. And that’s
the heart that Jesus desires. A holy heart.
The key verse in this text is verse 12—“He sat down.”
We know from our focus last week that in this letter to Hebrew Christians,
the writer is comparing the old covenant under the law of Moses with the new
covenant under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The writer is contrasting the
futility of the old sacrificial system with the perfect and completed work
of Jesus. Before, the people had to bring animal sacrifices and offerings
constantly because none of those sacrifices would ever take away their sins
forever.
But now when this priest, Jesus, offered for all time one sacrifice
for sins, that was all we needed. The work was done. Nothing more could be
offered, nothing more needed to be offered. So having made that perfect sacrifice,
Jesus “sat down.” The writer opens this section by saying that the
priests of the old covenant would stand, day after day, performing their religious
duties. We stand when the work is not yet done. We stand because there’s
more to do. For us, standing means readiness for action.
But Jesus “sat down.” It’s interesting to notice
how that posture even plays out in Jesus’ earthly ministry. I was interested
to see just how often in the Gospels Jesus is sitting down on the job. In
Matthew chapter 5 at the opening of the Sermon on the Mount the Gospel says,
“He went up on a mountainside and sat down. . . . And he began to teach
them” (vv. 1-2). Later in Matthew’s Gospel the crowds have grown
to unmanageable size. Once the people gather on the lakeshore and press in
so much that Jesus gets into a boat, sits down, and teaches the people from
there. Why is that significant? It says something about authority. It says
something about confidence.
And as great as that is, it’s still not the end of what
this text says to us. Verse 14: “By one sacrifice he has made perfect
forever those who are being made holy.” Almost sounds like a contradiction.
“Has made perfect . . .” compared to, “. . . are being made
holy.” Is this holiness deal something that happens to me all at once,
or do I kind of grow into it? The answer is, “yes.” God calls us
to be holy, we’ve seen that clearly. But you can’t make yourself
holy. That’s why Jesus came. There is no longer any sacrifice for sin.
It’s not about your good works, it’s not about your devotion, it’s
not about your service, and it’s not about your moral purity. It’s
not about you! It’s all about the “sit down” work of Jesus
who makes us holy not by our effort but by His power and grace.
One of my favorite Leadership cartoons shows two couples seated
in a living room engaged in Bible study. One of the women is speaking, and
she says, “Well, I haven’t actually died to sin, but I did feel
kind of faint once.” I’m afraid that too often we think that’s
the best we can ever do in our battle against the influences of this world.
The message of Hebrews chapter 10, indeed the message of the
whole Bible is that in Jesus Christ God has made a way for us to fulfill His
command, “Be holy, as I am holy.” In our text for today, there is
mentioned one of the most wonderful doctrines in the Christian faith. It is
the idea of assurance. Because of Jesus we can draw near to God “in full
assurance of faith” (v. 22).
One of the most significant illustrations of this is contained
in the story of John Wesley struggling to know that he did indeed belong to
Christ. The influence of Moravian brethren during a journey across the ocean
was an important piece of preparing Wesley for his famous “Aldersgate
experience.” He describes that moment of assurance in wonderful terms.
Preaching holiness must include attention to the idea of assurance.
Too many of our people live in a state of constant uncertainty about their
spiritual health. However, there is no reason for our discipleship to be a
life of fear. God wants to give us the gift of the witness of His Spirit.
He wants us to be assured of our salvation, to know that we belong to Him.
The writer of Hebrews is talking about where that assurance
comes from. It first comes from the Holy Spirit bearing witness, as promised
in verse 15. It also comes from knowing that Jesus not only desires holy hearts
and not only makes holy hearts but also keeps holy hearts. We do not have
a static doctrine of perseverance where once one is saved, one is always saved.
We have a dynamic doctrine of perseverance where the Spirit of Christ indwells
me, purifies my heart, and daily makes me able to stand in God’s presence.
This is the wonderful assurance that is part of what the grace
of holiness offers to us. It’s the privilege of living with the awareness
of Paul as expressed in Romans: “You did not receive a spirit that makes
you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by
him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our
spirit that we are God’s children” (8:15-16).
During the weeks just past, we were looking at the biblical
call to holiness. In fact, we were seeking to understand holiness as something
that our hearts truly desire because God made us for it. We heard in Leviticus
God’s call to “be holy, as I am holy.” Then we heard from Hebrews
the good news that in Jesus Christ the way has been provided for us to live
before God in holiness.
In these next two weeks we will focus on how this call to live
holy lives plays out—in our personal lives and in our corporate life
as the church. Living a holy life in our kind of world is tough. But it’s
about more than the way the world is. The issues are personal and specific.
The challenges we will face this week will be challenges of personal integrity.
What does it mean to live as one who has been clearly called
by God to “be holy” in the midst of a very unholy world?
The people to whom this letter is addressed had to face that
question with sobering reality. Peter is writing to encourage and to warn
these Christians who were truly feeling like strangers and aliens in the land.
What does God’s Word say about maintaining holiness in a pagan atmosphere?
Our attention almost immediately moves toward the specifics
of attitude and behavior that the writer lists in this passage. He talks about
being disciplined and self-controlled. He talks about nonconformity to the
sinful desires that once controlled our lives. But in order for us to really
live differently in this world, the work of God in our lives has to go much
deeper than the discipline of choices we make.
You can’t be a holy Christian in an unholy world just by
trying hard to act like one. The only way to live in the holy relationship
of which this text speaks is through a miraculous change of heart that is
a work of God’s grace.
I liken it to how my parents inculcated their values in me. If all my parents
had ever given to me was a list of expectations or characteristics that I
should have, it probably wouldn’t have been all that effective when the
pressure was on. Instead they gave me an identity, a vision for what a person
of integrity was like. They gave me clear instruction by their words and mostly
by their model of what it meant to live as one who belongs to Christ. So they
said, “Remember who you are.” I knew what they were talking about.
And I wanted to honor those words because they didn’t hand me a list,
they gave me their heart.
That is what God offers to us in Jesus Christ. He offers a new
identity as “obedient children” and as those who have been redeemed
“with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:14, 19). So we live
holy lives, not in response to a list of expectations but in response to the
love of a Father.
As we think about God’s call to holiness, there is much
more at stake than our personal holiness. A major part of this biblical call
to holiness is that God calls His Church to be holy. This is an important
truth to proclaim in the midst of a culture that majors on individualism.
This same spirit of self-exaltation has invaded and, in some cases, pervaded
the church.
It has some disturbing consequences. For example, there is in
today’s Church a common lack of intimacy among God’s people. We
who speak of ourselves as brothers and sisters in Christ are, in fact, often
not that close. Paradoxically, Christians are some of the loneliest people
in America.
Our society has driven home the idea that what matters most
is your rights. “Have it your way, protect yourself, actualize yourself,
and take care of yourself.” This unchristian idea has thoroughly invaded
the Church. People leave churches every week on their way to different churches
because, they say, “My needs just weren’t being met”—as
if that’s the main issue in being part of a church.
There is also a kind of “bootstraps theology” at work
whereby people seem to believe that being reconciled to God is mostly their
work. I come to Christ, I get saved, I repent, I reorder my life, and I surrender
all. This rugged individualism in which we have become so steeped impacts
every dimension of our Christian lives. It certainly impacts the way we think
about and express the doctrine of holiness. Maybe holiness has as much to
do with how we act and live together as it does with how we act and live individually.
Now there is no doubt that the grace of God’s sanctifying work is thoroughly
personal, but it is not private.
This is borne out throughout the Scriptures, but it is beautifully
evident in the way that Jesus prays for us just before He goes to the Cross.
This wonderful prayer of Jesus in John 17 has the balance just right. Jesus
does begin His prayer, interestingly enough, praying for himself. His relationship
with the Father is personal. But it is not private, for Jesus very quickly
moves His prayer to the relationship that He and His Father desire with all
of us who would believe.
Jesus’ prayer for us is a corporate prayer, and as He prays for us together, one of the main things He prays for is that we would be holy. He prays, “Sanctify them by the truth” (v. 17). His longing is that somehow in our life together we might experience what it means to be a sanctified church. What does that mean? Jesus imagines more than a collection of holy individuals that happen to get together on Sundays. He imagines a holy church—where the result is greater than the sum of the parts.
