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The Cost of Being a Loner · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: The cost of being a Christian loaner. Miss the topic
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  Speaker 1: today on the table because over the next two days
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  Speaker 1: we're reading about the one body text many members, one body,
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  Speaker 1: that dynamic of the local church that Paul pictures for
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  Speaker 1: us in One Corinthians chapter twelve, verses twelve to thirty one,
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  Speaker 1: which we read together over the next two days on
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  Speaker 1: Friday and Saturday. That's coming up, and I know this
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  Speaker 1: text applies to the topic at hand. Today, Pastor John
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  Speaker 1: is joining us over the telephone to address the question
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  Speaker 1: from a podcast listener named Joe who lives in New Jersey. Hello,
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  Speaker 1: Pastor John, Joe writes on social media, you once wrote this.
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  Speaker 1: Christ did not die to create saved loaners. He died
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  Speaker 1: to create Christ's exalting friendships. Can you please explain this?
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  Speaker 1: A lot of Christians are loaners, many of them hurting,
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  Speaker 1: perhaps victims of the church. Perhaps they are victims of
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  Speaker 1: the lies that they believe. Pastro John, how would you
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  Speaker 1: encourage or motivate Christian loaners.
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  Speaker 2: There are a lot of Christian loaners, some by choice
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  Speaker 2: and some not by choice. And my point was God's
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  Speaker 2: aim in the death and resurrection and work of Christ
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  Speaker 2: today is to move people beyond that stage if they're
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  Speaker 2: in it. If you're in a stage where you are
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  Speaker 2: a Christian loaner because you want to be, or you're
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  Speaker 2: a Christian loaner because you feel like people have given
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  Speaker 2: you no choice but to be. God sent his son
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  Speaker 2: to change that. He wants to move you not just
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  Speaker 2: to be a soul satisfied friend of Jesus, but to
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  Speaker 2: be a soul satisfied friend to friends, so that you
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  Speaker 2: experience Jesus through others as well as directly. And here's
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  Speaker 2: where that came from, Tony. I preached from two Timothy
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  Speaker 2: four where Paul said, at my first defense, no one
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  Speaker 2: stood by me. Everybody deserted me, but the Lord stood
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  Speaker 2: by me and strengthened me. Now you could take that
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  Speaker 2: verse and say, see, he didn't aid people. Jesus was
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  Speaker 2: his friend. Jesus will never fail. People will always fail you.
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  Speaker 2: I'm tired of dealing with people. They're just fickle and
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  Speaker 2: they let you down. And I'm gonna be like Paul
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  Speaker 2: and have the Lord stand by me. And if everybody
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  Speaker 2: forsakes me, that's their problem. I've got Jesus. That is
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  Speaker 2: totally not what Paul experienced in that chapter because he said,
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  Speaker 2: just a little bit later to Timothy, do your best
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  Speaker 2: to come to me before winter. And he said a
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  Speaker 2: little earlier, Luke alone is with me. Get more. Bring
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  Speaker 2: him with you. He is useful to me in the ministry.
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  Speaker 2: This is Paul's heart in all of his letters. Paul
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  Speaker 2: hated being in ministry alone. When he was forced to
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  Speaker 2: go alone to Athens, first thing he did was send back,
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  Speaker 2: Please get Timothy and the team down here as soon
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  Speaker 2: as you can. I don't want to be here in
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  Speaker 2: this city by myself. And so I think it stands
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  Speaker 2: that Christ died so that we would not be Christian loaners,
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  Speaker 2: but would be in christ exalting friendships. Because if you
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  Speaker 2: say why, it's because there's more of Christ to be
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  Speaker 2: known in christ exalting friendships. You know. I don't want
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  Speaker 2: to twist the arm of a loaner and say you
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  Speaker 2: ought to do this and it's your duty to do this.
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  Speaker 2: I want to say you're missing something, really missing something.
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  Speaker 2: There is more of Christ to be known. There's more
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  Speaker 2: of God to be known. God said to a happy man,
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  Speaker 2: it is not good for you to be alone. And
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  Speaker 2: Paul said to a church the eye can't say to
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  Speaker 2: the hand, I have no need of you. The head
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  Speaker 2: can't say to the feet, I have no need of you.
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  Speaker 2: They can't. And if you're a head or an eye,
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  Speaker 2: or a hand or a finger, pinky or big toe
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  Speaker 2: standing off by yourself saying I don't need them, you're wrong.
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  Speaker 2: Paul says you're wrong. So here's my encouragement. First of all,
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  Speaker 2: to the loaners who think they don't need others, I
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  Speaker 2: would say, you're kicking against the pricks. God has more
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  Speaker 2: for you, much more of himself than you will have
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  Speaker 2: on your own. And the thing i'd say by way
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  Speaker 2: of encouragement to the Christian loaner who feels that he
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  Speaker 2: or she has no choice, that they've been kicked into loneliness,
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  Speaker 2: I would say, I'm sorry for what has happened to you.
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  Speaker 2: I'm sorry that that's been done to you. And I
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  Speaker 2: would say, please don't give up on the one never
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  Speaker 2: failing friend because other friends have failed you. And I
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  Speaker 2: would say, for the sake of Christ, forgive those who
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  Speaker 2: have failed you. Unforgiveness is suicidal. It hurts you more
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  Speaker 2: than it hurts them. And I would say, move toward
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  Speaker 2: a Bible preaching church with the prayer that God will
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  Speaker 2: guide you. He has a community for you. Trust Him
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  Speaker 2: for this, and I would say, finally, be be for
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  Speaker 2: others what you long for them to be for you.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you best for John. And if you're looking to
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  Speaker 1: belong within a good and healthy local church and you
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  Speaker 1: want to know what you should be looking for and
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  Speaker 1: seeking out a good and healthy local church, there's quite
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  Speaker 1: a lot of factors to consider, actually, And we've covered
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  Speaker 1: this topic of finding a good local church so often
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  Speaker 1: and so thoroughly over the years here on the podcast.
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  Speaker 1: I tried to take all of those episodes and digest
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  Speaker 1: them together, bring them together in the Ask Pest John
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  Speaker 1: book on pages four seventeen to four twenty eight to
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  Speaker 1: make it easier for you to navigate those episodes. Page
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  Speaker 1: four seventeen to four to twenty eight of the Ask
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  Speaker 1: pestor John Book. Well, you know that feeling you get
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  Speaker 1: when you're waiting for a package to arrive, the anticipation
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  Speaker 1: and that it does, and that little hit of excitement
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  Speaker 1: you get when you see the box on your doorstep,
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  Speaker 1: You grab it, tear open the box, and within like
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  Speaker 1: five minutes the thrill is gone. New thrills wear off
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  Speaker 1: so very quickly in this life. It's just a major
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  Speaker 1: failing of our fallen nature to be so easily bored.
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  Speaker 1: So how do we know that Heaven will not grow
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  Speaker 1: boring to us after a million years? It's the question
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  Speaker 1: from a young man named Mason. Great one up next time.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Tony Ranky, See you on Monday.