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Gifted to Serve Ministry as Grace in the Body of Christ · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to reform Thinking. You know when you look at a
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towering, like maybe 100 story skyscraper in the middle of a
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massive metropolis, your eyes naturally go right to the
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aesthetics. Oh, sure, yeah.
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Human nature is, well, instinctively drawn to the
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things that catch the sunlight, right?
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Right, you look at the mirrored glass reflecting the sunset or
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those the striking geometric angles up at the summit.
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Yeah, or maybe you picture the grand opening ceremony, the
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mayor cutting the golden ribbon, that whole spectacle.
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Yeah, the lead architect standing at the podium, smiling,
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taking in all the applause from the crowd.
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But nobody hands out prestigious awards for the thousands of tons
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of concrete poured into the dark earth.
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Spot on. Nobody cheers for the
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subterranean rebar. I mean, you never see a plaque
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dedicated to the laborers who spent months digging the trench
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in the freezing rain so the concrete could be poured in the
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first place. And yet, without that invisible
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buried bedrock, the entire structure just it collapses
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under its own weight within days.
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Oh, totally. We like the visible.
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We like the shiny. We almost never appreciate the
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hidden structural integrity until, you know, a crack appears
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and the building threatens to fall apart.
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OK, let's unpack this today. Our mission in this deep dive is
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looking at 2 incredibly dense, weighty theological texts
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concerning Romans chapter 12, verses 3 through 8.
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Right, getting into the heavy stuff.
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Yeah, we are analyzing the spiritual gift of diaconia,
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which is a Greek word frequently translated as ministry or
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practical assistance. What we are analyzing today is a
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concept our sources call the dignity of the dustpan.
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The. Dignity of the dustpan.
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I love that phrase. It's so good.
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Modern culture, and frankly, corporate culture, prizes
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status, visibility, climbing the ladder.
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But the text we have stacked up here propose A radical
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countercultural alternative. A complete inversion of how we
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normally operate. Yeah, we are going to look at
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how ordinary, unseen labor within a local congregation
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subverts human pride. So if you are listening to this
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right now and you ever feel like you're quiet contributions,
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setting up chairs, cleaning up spills, maybe managing
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spreadsheets for a local charity go totally unnoticed, stick
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around. Yeah, don't go anywhere.
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This deep dive will reveal the massive theological weight of
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your hidden labor. What is fascinating here is how
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the sources insist that the local church is entirely
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distinct from, well, a consumer venue or an entertainment
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theater. Right, it's not a show.
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No, not at all. It is not a place where a few
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highly visible individuals execute professional duties
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while the rest of the congregation sits back in
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comfortable chairs. Just consuming the content,
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yeah. The texts argue that it is a
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living, breathing Organism and its survival depends entirely on
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the calloused hands of those operating behind the scenes.
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So what does this all mean For us to grasp the gravity of this
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practical ministry, our sources say, we first have to establish
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the theological motive behind it.
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The why behind the action? Spot on.
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Why on earth should anyone voluntarily take on lowly,
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uncompensated, unseen labor? I mean, human nature actively
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resists that we are wired to seek a return on investment.
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Oh. Absolutely.
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If I put in the effort, I want the credit.
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It absolutely does resist it. The natural human inclination, I
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mean, ever since the earliest recorded history, is a
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relentless drive for self exaltation.
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We want the throne, you know. We want people to notice us.
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We want the recognition. We want the applause.
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To answer your question about why anyone would willingly
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choose the dustpan, the sources direct us to the literary
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structure of the book of Romans itself.
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Yes, the sources break the book of Romans down into two distinct
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halves. You have chapters one through
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11, which they call the theological indicative.
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Baseline facts, yeah. Right.
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And then Chapters 12 through 16, which form the practical
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imperative. If we connect this to the bigger
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picture, chapters one through 11 establish A devastating baseline
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total human depravity. OK, let's pause there.
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We should define that term because it gets misunderstood
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constantly. Constantly people here.
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Total depravity and think. They think it means everyone is
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basically a serial killer. Right, that every human being is
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as evil as they could possibly be, but it doesn't mean that.
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It means that every faculty of the human condition, the mind,
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the will, the emotions, is tainted by rebellion against the
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Creator. It's a pervasive corruption.
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Yes, the Apostle Paul meticulously builds the case
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that no one is righteous, not a single person.
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The text mentions justification by faith alone, unconditional
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election, and sovereign grace. For someone who might be
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encountering these specific terms for the first time, can we
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break those down without getting bogged down in like, academic
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jargon? Absolutely.
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Think of justification by faith alone as a courtroom
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declaration. OK, a courtroom.
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I'm picturing it. It is not a process where God
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infuses goodness into a person over time until they become
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morally perfect. Right.
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It's not a progression. No, instead it is God acting as
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the judge to declaring a guilty defendant not guilty based
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entirely on the flawless record of Jesus Christ being credited
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to their account. Oh wow, so the record is
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transferred? Yes.
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Then you have unconditional election, which means God
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chooses to rescue individuals based entirely on his own
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sovereign will. Not on their resume.
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Right. Not because he foresaw some
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inherent goodness or like future potential in them.
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And sovereign grace is the overarching principle that God
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is the primary active agent in rescuing humanity.
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He does a heavy lifting he does. All of it.
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It is a massive theological block proving that humanity
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brings absolutely nothing to the table regarding their own
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rescue. And then we hit Romans 12, verse
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one, which the text describes as the most significant hinge in
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the entire epistle. The turning point, yeah.
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Starts with the word. Therefore, Paul calls believers
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to present their bodies as living sacrifices based
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exclusively on the mercies of God detailed in those first 11
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chapters. That therefore changes
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everything about how we view practical action.
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It introduces what Reformed theologians refer to as the
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third use of the law for the believer.
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The third use of the law. Let's make sure that concept is
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clear. Right.
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Historically, theologians outlined 3 uses of God's moral
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law. The first is simply to restrain
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societal evil. Like speed limits keeping us
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from crashing. Exactly.
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The second is to act as a mirror, showing us our sin and
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driving us to seek a Savior. Showing us we can't keep the
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speed limit, yeah. But the third use applies to
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someone who is already rescued. It acts as a guide for how to
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live a life of gratitude. We do not perform good works to
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earn our right standing with God.
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OK, this is key. The text specifically contrasts
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this with a Roman Catholic view of clerical merit, where
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standing might be earned through participation in sacraments.
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Right. Nor do we perform actions to
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sustain or keep our rescue intact, which the texts link to
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Arminianism. You know a system suggesting you
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can lose your standing if you fail to perform.
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So it's not about keeping your status.
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No, instead, grateful obedience is the inevitable fruit of a
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soul totally overwhelmed by unearned mercy.
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I have an analogy for this and I want you to tell me if it holds
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up to the text. Let's hear it.
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I was reading these notes and I pictured a massive trust fund.
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Imagine someone deposits $1 billion into your personal bank
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account. OK, I like where this is going.
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That deposit represents Romans chapters one through 11.
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It is pure, unmerited grace. You did not work for it.
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You did not earn it. You do not even know the person
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who gave it to you. It's just there.
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It's just there, but your behavior the next day, which
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represents Romans 12, changes entirely out of sheer gratitude.
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You do not act differently the next day to earn the billion
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dollars. The money is already sitting in
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your account. Right, the transaction is
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finished. You act differently because the
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gift was so staggering. That is a highly accurate way to
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frame it. The motivation shifts from fear
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or ambition to pure gratitude. But let me push back on that.
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Yeah, on behalf of the listener. Sure, if I am already given the
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billion dollars and my standing is totally secure, why not just
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sit on the couch? Why work at all in a world where
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you have to self promote just to survive economically?
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Aren't we basically asking people to become doormats?
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How does this not just lead to exploitation or sheer laziness?
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That is the brilliant tension of the text, a heart that has
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actually comprehended the magnitude of that billion dollar
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deposit. I mean, the reality of being
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spared from divine justice cannot remain.
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Static, it changes you. It creates an internal
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psychological compulsion to assist others.
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The sources point out that this structure crushes to specific
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human tendencies, which are the pride of the visible leader and
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the despair of the hidden labourer.
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Every single ability a person possesses is a divine
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assignment. This brings up a great detail
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from the Greek text. The sources highlight a
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brilliant word play Paul uses in Romans 12.3.
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Yes, the Greek phrasing here is incredible.
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He warns against hyperphoning, which means arrogant
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overthinking, and calls for sophrening, which translates to
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sober mindedness. Right.
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And the standard for this sober judgement is the measure of
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faith that God has assigned. This raises A crucial question.
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What's that? If even the faith we use to
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operate our practical gifts is divinely apportioned, what room
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is there for boasting? 0 The sources argue this
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annihilates the notion of autonomous human free will when
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it comes to boasting about our capabilities.
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Everything down to your intellectual capacity and your
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physical energy is an assignment from the Almighty.
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Which leads me to ask you about our default programming.
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If everything is an assignment, does that mean our natural
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inclination is always to steal the credit for our spiritual
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gifts? Are we hardwired to view our
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abilities as personal trophies? Precisely, the text notes that
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individuals are perpetually tempted to exaggerate their own
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standing, minimize their dependence on their creator, and
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use even religious privileges as fuel for self exaltation.
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We take the credit for the billion dollars.
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Yes, we act as though a capability were self created
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rather than a grace gift or a charisma.
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When we forget the therefore of Romans 12, we turn our
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capabilities into tools for self promotion that.
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Makes so much sense. We treat the local assembly like
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a corporate ladder. We do.
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But armed with this theological motive of grace, we have to ask
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how this actually played out in the real world.
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Paul is writing to Rome around AD 57 from the city of Corinth.
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Here's where it gets really interesting.
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Oh. Absolutely.
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We have to understand what Rome was at that specific moment in
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history. Paint that picture for.
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Us It was not just a prominent city, it was the epicenter of a
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vast Pagan empire built fundamentally on human
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subjugation, patronage networks and strict social
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stratification. Let's dig into that patronage
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system because it explains so much about their mindset.
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In ancient Rome, society functions through patron client
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relationships. A wealthy patron would offer
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financial backing, legal protection, or maybe business
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opportunities to a lower class client.
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In return, the client owed the patron absolute loyalty, public
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praise, and political backing. Every morning, clients would
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gather at the patron's house for the salutatio.
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Morning greeting. Right.
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Literally begging for favors and inflating the patrons public
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prestige. Honor and public visibility were
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the ultimate currency. If you did something for someone
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else, it was strictly A transaction to increase your own
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social leverage. The sources are incredibly clear
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about how this infected their view of Labor.
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The Greek word diaconia referred strictly to the degrading labor
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of waiting tables. Yeah, it was not a compliment.
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Greek philosophers like Plato absolutely despised manual
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labor. They taught that true happiness
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belonged exclusively to those who had their desires met by
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subordinates. You hit the nail on the head.
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To the Greco Roman mind, doing manual labor for someone else
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without receiving a massive social favor in return was not
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just unpleasant, it was shameful.
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It was sign of weakness. It meant you were at the
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absolute bottom of the social pyramid.
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What is fascinating here is the stunning lexical choice made by
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the original authors. The Greek language had
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prestigious words available. Plenty of them.
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If you wanted to describe public state sponsored action like
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funding a theater or a military campaign, you used Letourgia.
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Very high status word. Right.
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And if you wanted to describe high minded intellectual
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religious action, you used through Shia.
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But it bypasses those prestigious words entirely and
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selects the dust covered shame associated word diaconia.
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By choosing a word associated with menial, exhausting labor,
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the text elevates the mundane to the miraculous.
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It completely rebrands the concept of Greatness I.
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Want to look closely at your notes regarding the specific
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ethnic tensions in the Roman Church at this time, because the
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sources mentioned the Edict of Claudius and I think
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understanding that historical timeline is vital.
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What actually happened there? It is a.
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Phenomenal piece of historical context.
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Years prior to Paul writing this letter, around 8049, emperor
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Claudius expelled the entire Jewish population from Rome.
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The entire. Population.
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Yes, the. Roman historian Suetonius
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records that this was due to constant riots instigated by
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crestice, which historians widely agree is a reference to
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disputes over Christ. So overnight.
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Every Jewish Christian is deported.
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Exactly. During their exile, which lasted
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about five years, the Gentile Christians assumed complete
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leadership in the house churches across Rome.
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The dynamic. Shifted entirely, they did.
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They developed their own customs.
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They likely abandoned the strict kosher dietary laws and the
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observation of traditional Jewish festivals, enjoying a
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newfound liberty. But then Claudius.
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Dies in 8054. Claudius.
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Dies, the edict expires and the Jewish Christians return to
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Rome. And what happens?
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They return to a. Church they barely recognize.
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Immense ethnic and theological pride erupts.
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The Jewish believers clung to their ancestral traditions,
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viewing the Gentiles as lawless and unrefined.
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Oh, I see. Meanwhile, the Gentiles felt
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superior in their liberty, viewing the returning Jewish
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believers as weak and trapped in obsolete rituals.
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You have a church fracturing violently along ethnic lines.
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Think about a. Modern corporate boardroom
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Imagine a bitter, venomous dispute between two rival
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executives fighting over a promotion right.
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Lots of ego. Tons of ego.
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To solve it, the CEO does not call a mediation meeting.
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He does not hire a conflict resolution consultant.
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Instead, he hands both executives a mop and a bucket,
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points to the lobby bathrooms, and tells them they're going to
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scrub the tile grout together. For the next 4 hours.
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That would be. Wild to see the sheer.
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Shock of that assignment breaks down the hostility.
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How does taking up the mob engaging in diaconia
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mechanically destroy this kind of cultural pride?
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It works. Mechanically, because it removes
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the currency of status. When a Jewish believer and a
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Gentile believer are both sweating side by side, sweeping
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the courtyard, preparing a meal or caring for a sick widow, they
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cannot maintain their posturing. You can't be.
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Arrogant. Scrubbing a floor?
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No, you. Cannot claim ethnic or
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intellectual superiority over someone while you are mutually
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engaged in a task the outside culture views as degrading.
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Mutual practical assistance levels the playing field.
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I have to. Ask how would a literal 1st
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century Roman servant have reacted upon hearing this letter
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read aloud in a house church that is a.
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Staggering visual. Imagine an individual whose
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entire week consists of degrading, uncompensated tasks
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for a Pagan master sitting in the back of that house.
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Church, probably. Exhausted completely.
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Exhausted, culturally invisible. Then the letter is read and the
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apostle elevates Dioconia alongside prophecy and teaching.
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This individual realizes their daily exhausting tasks, when
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done for the brethren, are actually supernatural grace
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endowments. The text says the intended
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effect would have been immense comfort and a restoration of
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dignity. The dignity.
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Of the dustpan. It subverts the entire Roman
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hierarchy of value precisely. It flips the pyramid upside
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down, but practically. Speaking, how does a
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congregation actually organize itself to ensure this work gets
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done? Since the historical culture so
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intensely resisted this kind of Labor, There has to be a
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structural mechanism, the primary.
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Analogy used in the text is the human body.
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It pairs organic unity with functional adversity.
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Breaking that down, what does? It look like the text.
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Points out that diversity of function is not a defect, it is
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a meticulous design. A hand should not resent being a
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hand simply because it is not an eye.
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An ear cannot complain that it does not possess the ability to
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walk. And the sources take a very
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specific theological stance here, arguing strictly for
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cessationism. Now we are impartially reporting
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what the texts say. So we're not endorsing this
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view, just explaining it, right? Just laying out.
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Their argument, but they argue. That miraculous sign gifts like
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speaking in tongues and predictive prophecy belongs
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solely to the Apostolic Foundation and has ceased.
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Meanwhile, the ordinary equipping gifts, teaching,
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giving, assisting continue fiercely active today.
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That is the. Argument presented in the
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material. It elevates the dignity of the
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ordinary everyday tasks, and the Greek grammar of Romans 12.7
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supports this intense focus on the ordinary.
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It is an elliptical construction.
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An elliptical. Construction.
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Break that down for us, it means there's.
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Actually no main verb in the Greek phrase.
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In English we supply verbs to make it readable, but the raw
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Greek translates roughly to if diaconia in the diaconia if
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ministry. In the ministry, it sounds
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almost breathless, urgent. It does the.
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Preposition N, meaning in denotes the sphere of operation.
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The grammar demands singular focus.
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You must be entirely absorbed in your assigned sphere, so no
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wandering. Outside your lane exactly.
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The one gifted to assist must not constantly covet the
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teaching platform, and the teacher must not neglect the
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arduous work of studying in order to manage logistics.
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I picture an. Orchestra.
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Imagine a massive Symphony playing a complex piece.
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The tuba player suddenly decides he wants the visibility and the
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melodic beauty of the first violin.
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Oh boy. He abandons his instrument mid
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Symphony, walks up to the front of the stage and tries to grab
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the bow from the lead violinist. What happens?
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Mechanically? The disaster is immediate.
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The whole piece. Falls apart, yeah, when the.
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Tuba drops out. The rhythm section loses its
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anchor, the bass frequency vanishes.
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Suddenly the violin sound shrill and unsupported because the
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lower register is gone, the conductor has to stop the entire
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performance and the audience is completely confused.
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That analogy. Perfectly illustrates the
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mechanical failure of coveting someone else's assignment.
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When you abandon your hidden role for a visible 1, you do not
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just hurt yourself, you starve the entire Organism.
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Why do? Modern believers feel so
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unfulfilled by their assigned fears that they constantly
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church hop looking for better opportunities.
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We see this constantly. People leave a congregation
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because they feel their specific talents are not being utilized
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on a large enough stage because we have a.
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Adopted a consumer mindset rather than a covenantal one, we
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view our assignments as stepping stones to greater visibility
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rather than as vital operations in a living body.
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Wow, Stepping. Stones, yeah, if you.
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View the local assembly as a venue for self actualization.
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Any hidden task feels like an insult, but the sources
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mentioned specific gritty tasks. Plunging A clogged toilet,
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managing financial spreadsheets, setting up heavy folding chairs
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or preparing communion elements. The Dirty work.
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Right. These are not secular chores.
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They are supernaturally enabled operations, sustaining the bride
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of Christ plunging a. Toilet as a supernatural
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operation that completely shatters how we usually talk
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about spirituality. We usually talk about
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spirituality in terms of ethereal feelings or like
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emotional states. It demands a.
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Total re evaluation of what we consider holy holiness is not
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just quiet contemplation holiness is picking up the broom
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when everyone else walks past the mess but let's.
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Be fiercely honest for a second. If we are commanded to stay in
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our assigned lane and perform lowly tasks without human
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recognition, burnout is inevitable.
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There is a psychological wall here.
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Even if I accept my role, doing the unseen work day in and day
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out build a resentment. Human willpower runs dry
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rapidly. If willpower isn't the fuel for
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this kind of humility, what is the mechanism that actually
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sustains it? The sources.
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Are adamant that we cannot find the strength within ourselves.
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If you rely on stoic willpower, you will become incredibly
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bitter. Jesus Christ is the supreme
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perfect fulfillment of diaconia, the Old Testament.
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Foreshadowing is vivid here. The sources point to the
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suffering servant of Isaiah 53. Yes, Isaiah.
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Describes a figure possessing no worldly majesty, despised and
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rejected by mankind, a man of sorrows.
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Nothing that. Draws the eye right, he.
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Holds no visual appeal that would draw the status obsessed
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crowds to him and the New Testament.
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Execution is even more striking. The text references Philippians
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chapter 2 and the concept of canosis.
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Canosis. Refers to the Son of God veiling
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his pre Incarnate glory to take the form of a doulos, A
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bondservant or slave. The ultimate descent.
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Yes. The creator of the cosmos steps
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into human history not as a conquering military monarch
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demanding tribute, but as a laborer who possesses no place
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to lay his head. And then there is John 13, the
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upper room, Jesus washing the disciples feet.
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Let's look closely at the tension in that room because the
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disciples were actively arguing about who was the greatest
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literally right before Jesus took the towel.
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It is a scene. Of intense irony, the disciples
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are bickering over social ranking.
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They're engaging in the exact kind of Roman patronage
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posturing we discussed earlier. Who gets the best?
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Seat Who's the favorite? Who has the most?
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Authority. And while they are arguing, the
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Incarnate God takes off his outer garment, wraps a towel
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around his waist, and begins washing the manure and dirt off
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their feet. But the texts?
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Stress a massive theological boundary here.
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Christ is not a moral example in this scenario.
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This is a. Critical distinction.
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If Christ were strictly A moral example for us to emulate, we
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would be entirely doomed. Why doomed?
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Explain the difference between substitution and a moral example
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because. As the sources argue, all our
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righteous deeds are polluted by self-interest, internal
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grumbling and a pervert desire for recognition.
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We can never perfectly emulate his humility.
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We always. Fail the test exactly.
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Therefore, Christ's ultimate labor was substitutionary.
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His true diaconia culminated on the cross through expiation and
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propitiation. OK, those are two.
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Massive theological terms expiation and propitiation.
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Can we use an analogy to explain the mechanics of how these two
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concepts actually function? Well, let's break.
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Them down Expiation is the removal of guilt.
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Think of a massive whiteboard filled with every crime, every
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selfish thought, every arrogant action you have ever committed.
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A huge. Whiteboard expiation.
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Is the of taking a permanent eraser and wiping the board
23:03
completely clean? The record of debt is cancelled
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and propitiation. Propitiation.
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Deals with the wrath of a just judge against that crime.
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Imagine a terrifying, destructive lightning storm
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approaching a house. The house.
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Represents the Sinner, the House.
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Represents the guilty Sinner. Propitiation is a massive steel
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lightning rod placed on the roof.
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When the lightning strikes, the rod absorbs the full devastating
23:27
voltage of the strike, grounding it safely into the earth so the
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house remains entirely untouched.
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Oh wow. That's a vivid image.
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Christ on the. Cross acted as that lightning
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rod absorbing the divine justice required for human rebellion,
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acting as a ransom for his elect so.
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This creates a massive shift in perspective.
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A believer cannot properly assist others until they have
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first been washed by the blood of the ultimate Suffering
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Servant. You cannot give what you have
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not received precisely. The text notes that Christian
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action is never an attempt at self atonement.
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We do not scrub the floors to pay off our spiritual debts,
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because the debt is. Gone.
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We labor. Because the servant king has
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already absorbed the lightning strike on our behalf, let me
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push. Back slightly regarding John 13
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because it challenges everything about our modern boundaries.
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If Jesus willingly washed the feet of men who are actively
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obsessed with their own status, including Judas, who he knew was
24:22
about to betray him to death, how does that mechanically strip
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us of our excuses regarding who deserves our help it?
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Dismantles our excuses entirely. We constantly set conditions on
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our assistants. Yeah, we want.
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People to be thankful. We want to help.
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Those who are grateful, those who can repay us, or those who
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will acknowledge our sacrifice. On social media, Christ washed
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the feet of arrogant, bickering men who were hours away from
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abandoning him in a garden. It's humbling.
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How does? This mechanically strip our
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pride when the guy who spoke the universe into existence
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voluntarily cleans the animal filth off your heel.
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You can no longer look at the person sitting next to you and
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claim social superiority. It just can't.
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Do it the king. Bled for rebellious subjects,
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completely reversing the Roman hierarchy of status and merit.
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If the master Stoops, his followers cannot strut.
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That is a. Staggering reality.
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Armed with this model of Christ, we have to confront the specific
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modern hazards that prevent congregations from embracing
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this framework today. Why is this so hard for us in
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the 21st century? The sources dive right into the
25:27
statistics of spectator Christianity.
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Yes. They cite the infamous 8020
25:32
rule. The studies referenced in the
25:34
material show a consistent sociological pattern.
25:37
Roughly 20% of the congregation typically executes 80% of Labor
25:41
leaving the. Rest to just watch the Vast.
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Majority of attendees operate entirely as consumers address
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the. Listener directly for a second.
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If you are listening to this and you feel exhausted by your
25:51
modern life, the endless emails, the commute, the financial
25:55
stress, it is so easy to slip into consumer mode on a Sunday
25:58
morning. It really.
25:59
Is you just want to sit? In a padded chair.
26:01
Listen to some good music here and uplift message and go home
26:04
to take a nap. The theological demand for
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diaconia seems daunting when you're already running on empty
26:10
that. Exhaustion is exactly why the
26:12
seeker sensitive church model is so popular, and it takes a huge
26:16
hit in these texts. The seeker sensitive model
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treats the local assembly like a commercial entertainment venue,
26:22
like going to a. Movie, right?
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It is designed to lower the barrier to entry by removing
26:27
demands. It relies on professional clergy
26:30
to perform Florida State for consumer minded crowds, treating
26:33
the attendees like customers who need to be satisfied rather than
26:37
participants who need to be put to work the texts.
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Argue that this framework grieves the Holy Spirit.
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Why? Because it fundamentally denies
26:45
the priesthood of all believers, it relegates the congregation to
26:49
passive observation, stunting their spiritual growth and the
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sources. Also bring up a fascinating
26:54
ideological clash regarding critical race theory and
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intersectionality. Now we are remaining totally
27:00
impartial here, just reporting what the texts say, but they
27:03
contrast the worldly method of addressing power dynamics with
27:06
the biblical method. Let's explain the.
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Mechanics of that contrast how does the worldly method work
27:11
according to the text, and how does the biblical method
27:13
function according to the? Source material, the worldly
27:16
method, which they describe as the framework of CRT, looks at a
27:20
society, spots the hierarchy, identifies the oppressor group
27:24
at the top, and demands the dismantling of that structure
27:28
through grievance, systemic revolution, or seizing the
27:31
platform. The goal is.
27:32
To flip the tables the. Goal is to overturn the power
27:35
dynamic entirely and the biblical.
27:37
Method Scripture. Subbots bodily authority
27:40
structures through an entirely different mechanism.
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It does not instruct believers to seize the microphone or
27:46
launch a revolution. Instead, it instructs those with
27:49
the most leverage to voluntarily descend into the lowest societal
27:53
roles. It maintains ordered roles
27:56
without apology, but it subverts pride through self emptying
28:00
humility. So it's an.
28:01
Inside out approach you dismantle.
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The toxicity of a hierarchy not by burning down the building,
28:06
but by having the CEO pick up the mop.
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So the. Texts state that true saving
28:10
faith will inevitably manifest intangible labor for the
28:14
brethren. A regenerate heart is a working
28:16
heart. Therefore, a person sitting in
28:18
the Pew, acting solely as a consumer, must seriously examine
28:21
their spiritual standing, the material.
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Is unflinching on this point. If you claim to have received
28:27
the staggering deposit of grace we talked about earlier, but you
28:30
possess absolutely no desire to assist the body, no desire to
28:34
clean, to teach children to set up chairs, to visit the sick.
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The texts urge serious self examination.
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It makes me think of someone going to a hospital.
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Imagine a person who walks into the emergency room, eats the
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free cafeteria food, aggressively critiques the
28:51
doctor's bedside manner, complaints about the lighting in
28:53
the waiting room, but absolutely refuses to offer a simple
28:56
Band-Aid to the bleeding patient sitting right next to them.
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Yeah, that's rough. That is the modern church
29:01
consumer that. Analogy captures the stark
29:03
reality presented in the texts. It is a harsh rebuke to nominal
29:07
Christianity. The local assembly is not a
29:10
hospital where you just receive care.
29:12
It is a triage unit where once you are bandaged, you are
29:15
expected to start handing out supplies.
29:17
So how do we? Encourage the exhausted Deacon
29:20
or the unseen nursery worker who feels totally forgotten by their
29:23
local body. We establish that the work is
29:26
grueling, gratitude is rare, and willpower runs out the sources.
29:30
Offer a specific future oriented comfort to sustain the weary
29:34
laborer. They present a dispensational
29:37
pre millennial hope following the rapture of the Church.
29:41
Believers stand at the Bema seat of Christ.
29:44
Let's define. Those terms, for clarity,
29:46
dispensational and premillennial, refer to a
29:49
specific theological framework regarding the end times,
29:52
suggesting A literal future Kingdom on earth and distinct
29:56
periods of how God administers His plan.
29:59
But the key event here is the Bema seat.
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The text is careful to specify that this is not a judgement for
30:04
sin, right? Correct.
30:06
The material states that the punishment for sins was entirely
30:09
absorbed at Calvary. That was the lightning rod we
30:11
discussed, right? The debt is.
30:12
Paid the bema. Seat functioning, like the
30:14
judge's platform at the ancient Olympic Games, is strictly a
30:18
ceremony for evaluating works and granting rewards.
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And here is the beautiful inversion of justice.
30:24
The scales of human value flip completely upside down.
30:26
Explain that. Inversion.
30:27
What does that actually look like?
30:29
The texts. Argue that the greatest crowns,
30:32
the highest honors in the coming Kingdom will not go to the
30:35
famous mega church personalities, the wealthy
30:38
donors or the visible leaders who received their applause on
30:41
earth. Who do they go?
30:43
To the greatest. Rewards will be handed to the
30:45
anonymous intercessors, the floor sweepers, the nursery
30:48
workers who rocked crying infants so parents could listen
30:51
to a sermon, the people who plunged the toilets and visited
30:54
the lonely shut insurance, the hidden.
30:56
Faithfulness will not remain hidden forever.
31:00
The Sovereign Lord sees absolutely all of it.
31:02
That is a. Relentless motivation.
31:04
The texts offer you labor not for a temporary plaque of
31:07
recognition or a mention in the weekly bulletin, but for the day
31:11
you stand before the Creator of the cosmos and hear well done,
31:15
good and faithful servant. Let's recap.
31:17
The progression we have traced today.
31:19
We started with the sovereign mercies of God in Romans one
31:22
through 11, that massive deposit of unearned grace, the billion.
31:26
Dollar account, right? We moved into the hinge of
31:29
Therefore, in chapter 12, where gratitude dries action, we look
31:34
at the sheer cultural shock of elevating the slave associated
31:37
word diaconia in a Roman society obsessed with status and
31:40
patronage. Flipping the Roman.
31:42
Pyramid We trace the. Body analogy and the demand for
31:45
singular focus in our assigned lanes seeing how abandoning our
31:48
post starves the Organism. Then we look to the ultimate
31:51
model, the substitutionary basin and towel of Jesus Christ,
31:54
before ending with a promise of future reward at the Bema seat
31:57
for hidden labor. It is a.
31:59
Staggering theological trajectory that moves from vast
32:02
cosmic redemption all the way down to the practical mechanics
32:06
of wielding A broom and a dustpan.
32:08
It really is. I want to leave you, the
32:10
listener, with a challenging scenario to Mull over.
32:12
Building on everything we discussed, what if the most
32:15
spiritually weighty action you take this entire year, the
32:18
action that echoes loudest in eternity, is a task so menial,
32:22
so completely behind the scenes, that absolutely no one on earth
32:25
will ever know you did it? Are you OK with that?
32:28
That question. Cuts right to the core of our
32:30
motives. Thanks for.
32:31
Joining us for this deep dive on reformed thinking.