Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Responding Correctly to Authority │ Msg 610 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living

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Responding Correctly to Authority │ Msg 610 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: It's so easy for those in authority on earth to
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  Speaker 1: forget that there is a higher authority in heaven. There
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  Speaker 1: is a sovereign God who presides over our times and
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  Speaker 1: our seasons, who does whatever he pleases, whose authority is
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  Speaker 1: absolutely supreme. He in fact, answers to no one. We
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  Speaker 1: answer to him. As Christians, we get that. But there's
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  Speaker 1: a harder question. How do we respond to authority on earth?
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  Speaker 1: Do we respect all authorities?
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  Speaker 2: What about within the church? Listen now as I read
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  Speaker 2: the foundation of those.
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  Speaker 1: Issues about authority as they appear in the scriptures. The
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  Speaker 1: passage I have in mind is one Timothy chapter six,
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  Speaker 1: the first six verses. All who are under the yoke
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  Speaker 1: as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy
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  Speaker 1: of all honor, so that the name of God and
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  Speaker 1: our doctrine will not be spoken against those who have
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  Speaker 1: believers as their masters. Must not be disrespectful to them
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  Speaker 1: because they are brethren, but must serve them all the
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  Speaker 1: more because those who partake of the benefit are believers
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  Speaker 1: and beloved. Teach and preach these principles. If anyone advocates
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  Speaker 1: a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words
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  Speaker 1: those of our Lord, Jesus Christ and with a doctrine
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  Speaker 1: conforming to godliness. He is conceited and understands nothing, but
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  Speaker 1: he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes
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  Speaker 1: about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil, suspicions,
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  Speaker 1: and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived
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  Speaker 1: of the truth. Who suppose that godliness is a means
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  Speaker 1: of gain, But godliness actually is a means of great
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  Speaker 1: gain when accompanied by contentment. I would like to speak
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  Speaker 1: on responding correctly to authority, and as I do, there
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  Speaker 1: are some things that need to be said just at
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  Speaker 1: the outset, so that we understand each other. Everyone is
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  Speaker 1: under someone's authority. It is not possible for you to
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  Speaker 1: live free of authority on this earth.
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  Speaker 2: Now, if you press me to the wall, would I
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  Speaker 2: would have to.
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  Speaker 1: Pull out the ultimate and say, yes.
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  Speaker 2: You are. You are under the authority of God.
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  Speaker 1: Even if you are independently wealthy, even if you do
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  Speaker 1: not have to work for anyone else, even if you
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  Speaker 1: are in perfect health and you find yourself free of
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  Speaker 1: any human attachments, you still are under the.
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  Speaker 2: Authority of God. So it's true.
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  Speaker 1: No one lives completely free of authority. Therefore, it is
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  Speaker 1: somewhere between helpful and essential that we know how to
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  Speaker 1: respond correctly to authority. More often than not, it would
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  Speaker 1: be true of most, if not all, of us. Here
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  Speaker 1: we work for someone else, We answer to someone else.
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  Speaker 1: There is a body of people, or there would be
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  Speaker 1: an individual who would represent our superior someone to whom
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  Speaker 1: we must answer. Since this is true, let me, on
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  Speaker 1: your behalf, make several admissions, and I have four in mind,
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  Speaker 1: just for the sake of clarification. First, submitting to authority
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  Speaker 1: is not a natural trait. Sinful people naturally prefer to rebel.
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  Speaker 1: Resistance is a lot more exciting and adventurous than submission.
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  Speaker 2: Just as the.
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  Speaker 1: Soil naturally returns to the weeds, the heart naturally returns
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  Speaker 1: to independence. We are not by nature in the deep
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  Speaker 1: and unguarded sense of the word. We are not by
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  Speaker 1: nature dependent people. We are by nature independent people. We
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  Speaker 1: want to do things our way and in our time.
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  Speaker 1: Since that's true, submitting to authority is not a natural trait. Now,
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  Speaker 1: the second statement I would make is this, struggles with
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  Speaker 1: authority are sometimes complex and not easily solved. Just because
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  Speaker 1: you listen to a minister of the Gospel for a
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  Speaker 1: few minutes. Please do not think that you suddenly will
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  Speaker 1: solve your problems with authority. Some of you who hear
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  Speaker 1: these words right now have deep seated struggles that go
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  Speaker 1: back to years ago, when some things happened by someone
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  Speaker 1: in authority over you, and those things scarred, those things
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  Speaker 1: hurt you. Those things have created a whirlwind of events
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  Speaker 1: in your life. And just because we read a few wonderful,
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  Speaker 1: true and inspired verses from Scripture is no reason to
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  Speaker 1: believe that suddenly your problems with authority will be solved.
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  Speaker 2: So let's understand that too.
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  Speaker 1: I think it times we could leave the impression that
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  Speaker 1: we dispense miracles simply by opening a Bible and reading truth.
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  Speaker 2: The process is always there.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know of anyone who instantly solved his problems
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  Speaker 1: are her problems with authority. It's a process we have
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  Speaker 1: to work through.
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  Speaker 2: And maybe this is.
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  Speaker 1: A part of the link in the chain, of the
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  Speaker 1: links in the chain.
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  Speaker 2: That will help you in that process.
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  Speaker 1: Struggles with authority are sometimes complex and not easily solved. Third,
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  Speaker 1: some in authority have not earned our respect. I smiled
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  Speaker 1: because I think back to my days in the Marine Corps.
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  Speaker 1: I saluted many a rank, but I did not salute
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  Speaker 1: the man inside the uniform. I was an enlisted man,
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  Speaker 1: and every.
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  Speaker 2: Officer deserved a salute.
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  Speaker 1: Though I knew the lifestyle of some of the officers
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  Speaker 1: and I did not respect that. However, I respected the
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  Speaker 1: position of the individual, and I was wise to salute.
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  Speaker 2: It was part of survival.
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  Speaker 1: If you didn't, there were other things they did to you.
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  Speaker 1: Not everyone you worked for would you vote for if
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  Speaker 1: they were running for office. Some of you have real
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  Speaker 1: struggles with your superior and if you were given the
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  Speaker 1: right to change, you would elect to do that because
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  Speaker 1: you know the person in charge of you has, for
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  Speaker 1: one of many reasons, lost your respect. And so I
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  Speaker 1: say some in authority have not earned I respect.
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  Speaker 2: This brings me to the fourth.
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  Speaker 1: Resistance against authority is not always wrong. There's a funny
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  Speaker 1: teaching afloat these days that you are to submit regardless
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  Speaker 1: to whomever if they are in authority. I really stand
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  Speaker 1: against that teaching. If that were true, there never would
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  Speaker 1: have been a United States of America. There never would
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  Speaker 1: have been for many of us a pure life, a
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  Speaker 1: life that has been marked by spiritual growth. If that's true,
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  Speaker 1: then no matter what cult would come upon us. We
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  Speaker 1: are to submit because they speak with authority, and they
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  Speaker 1: bring us into submission, and we are therefore to follow along.
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  Speaker 1: No resistance against authorities not always wrong. Let me show
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  Speaker 1: you an example of that in Acts chapter five. It's
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  Speaker 1: a classic example, Verses forty through forty two. We have
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  Speaker 1: a great case in the biblical record of resistance, and
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  Speaker 1: we would applaud it. We admire it. In fact, it
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  Speaker 1: was part of the secret of the growth of the church.
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  Speaker 2: Acts five point.
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  Speaker 1: They took his advice, and after calling the apostles in,
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  Speaker 1: they flogged them, and they ordered them to speak no
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  Speaker 1: more in the name of Jesus, and then they released them.
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  Speaker 1: Note the command, there's not any there's not any misunderstanding.
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  Speaker 1: It's very clear. Do not speak in the name of
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  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ ever again. Now get out of here, verse
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  Speaker 1: forty one. So they went on their way from the
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  Speaker 1: presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been considered
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  Speaker 1: worthy to suffer shame for his name. And every day
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  Speaker 1: in the temple and from house to house they kept
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  Speaker 1: right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. One
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  Speaker 1: of the reasons the church has continued to grow is
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  Speaker 1: that the Church operates unintimidated in a world that says
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  Speaker 1: shut up, in a world that says, don't bring your message.
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  Speaker 2: To us anymore.
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  Speaker 1: We know that that kind of command is wrong, and
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  Speaker 1: we will not submit to it.
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  Speaker 2: Never have we never will.
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  Speaker 1: And every day in the temple, and every day in
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  Speaker 1: the neighborhood, and every day at the shop wherever they were,
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  Speaker 1: they continued to teach and to preach Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 2: So there are.
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  Speaker 1: Times where to submit to authority is wrong, and I
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  Speaker 1: know that you have many of you have sufficient wisdom
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  Speaker 1: to know when those times are. Now I want to
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  Speaker 1: talk about times when it is right to submit. First,
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  Speaker 1: Timothy chapter six contains the passage that is of interest
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  Speaker 1: to us, And there's no reason to spend hours and
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  Speaker 1: hours in it. It isn't that kind of complicated section
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  Speaker 1: of Scripture. One Timothy six, verses one through six is
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  Speaker 1: the passage I have in mind.
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  Speaker 2: Let me read these verses and you just follow along.
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  Speaker 1: Let all who are under the yoke as slaves regard
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  Speaker 1: their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that
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  Speaker 1: the name of God and our doctrine may not be
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  Speaker 1: spoken against. And let those who have believers as their masters.
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  Speaker 1: Not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren, but
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  Speaker 1: let them serve them all the more because those who
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  Speaker 1: partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. Teach and
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  Speaker 1: preach these principles. If anyone advocates advocates a different doctrine
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  Speaker 1: and does not agree with sound words those of our
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  Speaker 1: Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to Godliness,
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  Speaker 1: he is conceited and understands nothing. But he has a
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  Speaker 1: morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out
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  Speaker 1: of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and
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  Speaker 1: constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of
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  Speaker 1: the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain,
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  Speaker 1: But godliness actually is a means of great gain when
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  Speaker 1: accompanied by contentment. Now, as I look over these six verses,
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  Speaker 1: I find that they fall very neatly into three parts.
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  Speaker 1: Verse one addresses the subject of the authority over us
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  Speaker 1: be non Christian. Verse two talks about the authority over
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  Speaker 1: us when it is a Christian authority, and verses three
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  Speaker 1: through six talk about the authority being the truth of
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  Speaker 1: God Word of God. In each case, there is stated
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  Speaker 1: or implied the need.
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  Speaker 2: For submission to authority.
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  Speaker 1: Now, don't forget my first four statements, or you'll leave
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  Speaker 1: misquoting me. There are times when it's necessary to stand
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  Speaker 1: against authority. I'm not dealing with that in this passage
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  Speaker 1: of scriptures. So if you forget that, you will make
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  Speaker 1: this passage walk on all fours, and you will leave
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  Speaker 1: thinking all authority requires absolute submission. It isn't true, but
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  Speaker 1: in the cases stated here it is true.
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  Speaker 2: So keep that in mind.
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  Speaker 1: First, when the authority over us is non Christian, let
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  Speaker 1: all who are under the yoke. Now, let me give
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  Speaker 1: you a little background. It is claimed that about half
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  Speaker 1: the population of the Roman Empire at the time of
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  Speaker 1: the first century, certainly at the time of this writing,
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  Speaker 1: was composed of slaves. They were often called people under
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  Speaker 1: the yoke. The term means, or it implies, the idea
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  Speaker 1: of being in a hard and disagreeable.
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  Speaker 2: Position.
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  Speaker 1: You belonged to a heathen master. You were a human tool.
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  Speaker 1: You were a warm piece of meat. To put it bluntly,
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  Speaker 1: you were an instrument in his hand or her hand.
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  Speaker 1: You did as you were told. Now, some of those
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  Speaker 1: slaves came to know Christ, even though that's true. The
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  Speaker 1: master without Christ still viewed the slave as a living tool,
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  Speaker 1: and that's all. Kenneth West says. The Heathen estimate of
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  Speaker 1: a slave differed in degree, not in kind, from their
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  Speaker 1: estimate of cattle. You were a beast of burden. Now
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  Speaker 1: the slave is called upon to honor the master, to
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  Speaker 1: honor the position over him or her, Why so that
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  Speaker 1: the name of God and the doctrine of God may
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  Speaker 1: not be spoken against. Now, I'm not going to solve
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  Speaker 1: the problem of slavery in the next few minutes. It's
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  Speaker 1: interesting that this writer doesn't even attempt to do so either,
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  Speaker 1: though I'm sure he had his reservations regarding it. Let
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  Speaker 1: me apply it to your work, which might tie in
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  Speaker 1: well with the thought of slavery. You might say, there
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  Speaker 1: is a definite tie in. You perhaps work, and probably
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  Speaker 1: work for a non Christian employer. This non Christian is
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  Speaker 1: your boss. You find that as a Christian you would
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  Speaker 1: lead the company, the business, the outfit differently than your
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  Speaker 1: unsaved boss. But you're not in charge. So the point
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  Speaker 1: is clear. As long as you work for your boss,
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  Speaker 1: you do as you were told, and you do it
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  Speaker 1: so that the name of your God and the doctrine
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  Speaker 1: of your God may not be spoken against. Too many
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  Speaker 1: Christians view their work simply as the place to do evangelism.
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  Speaker 1: Too many Christians have the idea that my basic assignment
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  Speaker 1: in this job is to get everyone in this place saved,
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  Speaker 1: and that is their not simply primary goal, that is
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  Speaker 1: their single goal in being there, and they are invariably
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  Speaker 1: the ones that bring reproach to the name of Christ. Interestingly,
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  Speaker 1: there is nothing, of course, nothing wrong with making Christ known.
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  Speaker 1: That is our mission in life, that is our driving force, that.
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  Speaker 2: Is our hope of glory.
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  Speaker 1: However, we do not hire out at a company to
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  Speaker 1: evangelize it. We hire out to do a job, and in.
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  Speaker 2: The process of doing a good.
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  Speaker 1: Job, the name of our God is not reproached. And interestingly,
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  Speaker 1: those individuals more often than not have a marvelous opportunity
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  Speaker 1: in time to make Christ known. You see, we tend
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  Speaker 1: to get the cart before the horse. We tend to
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  Speaker 1: think that our position in Christ should be respected and
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  Speaker 1: gives us the right to take charge, certainly in the
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  Speaker 1: realm of spiritual things over the authority. Such is not true.
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  Speaker 1: Those who get that out of whack, as it says here,
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  Speaker 1: cause dishonor to the name of God and cause their
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  Speaker 1: doctrine to be spoken against. I hope to clarify that
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  Speaker 1: a little later. Now let's go to the next phase,
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  Speaker 1: and that's when the authority is Christian.
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  Speaker 2: Let those who have believers as.
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  Speaker 1: Their bosses or their masters, their superiors not be disrespectful
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  Speaker 1: to them because they are brethren.
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  Speaker 2: Now, this is a very familiar case for Christians. Christians
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  Speaker 2: often work for Christians.
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  Speaker 1: People in Christian organizations frequently choose to be there because they.
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  Speaker 2: Want that environment.
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  Speaker 1: They long to have a place where there can be
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  Speaker 1: dignity of person and a singular heart for the things
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  Speaker 1: of God.
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  Speaker 2: And there isn't the hassle we often say brought on by.
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  Speaker 1: Divergent and different ways of running things. The commitment to
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  Speaker 1: Scripture is an agreeable point, and the principles of Scripture
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  Speaker 1: are there for both you and your superior to claim,
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  Speaker 1: and it's a magnet to draw.
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  Speaker 2: You to that place.
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  Speaker 1: However, it has been my observation that when Christians work
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  Speaker 1: in Christian organizations, it is a tendency to take advantage
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  Speaker 1: of that and rather than doing a good, hard piece
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  Speaker 1: of work, there is the expectation that there will be
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  Speaker 1: certain benefits that come your way that you can, in
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  Speaker 1: fact take advantage of your boss, and you have no
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  Speaker 1: right to be reproved, because, after all, you're all in
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  Speaker 1: the family.
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  Speaker 2: This has helped me.
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  Speaker 1: Verse two says, let them serve them all the more
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  Speaker 1: you ever noticed that It really kind of stands out
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  Speaker 1: like a neon sign flashing. If you work for a
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  Speaker 1: Christian organization, serve them.
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  Speaker 2: All the more.
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  Speaker 1: You have all the more reason to be diligent, all
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  Speaker 1: the more reason to do an excellent piece of work.
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  Speaker 1: Why because your brothers and sisters in the family. There
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  Speaker 1: are times when Christians ought to fire Christians who don't
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  Speaker 1: do a good job. There are times when Christians who
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  Speaker 1: take advantage of Christian bosses need to be reproved because
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  Speaker 1: they watch the clock, or they take special extra benefits
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  Speaker 1: that are not given them, and in that presumption they.
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  Speaker 2: Think they have the right.
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  Speaker 1: But this says, if you work for a believer, don't
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  Speaker 1: be disrespectful, don't take advantage. I like the way one
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  Speaker 1: man puts it, the Christian slave was in a peculiar,
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  Speaker 1: peculiarly difficult position. If he was the slave of a
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  Speaker 1: heathen master, he might very easily make it clear that
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  Speaker 1: he regarded his master as bound for perdition and himself
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  Speaker 1: as the air of salvation. His christianity might well give
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  Speaker 1: him a feeling of intolerant superiority, which would create an
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  Speaker 1: impotus situation. On the other hand, if the master was
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  Speaker 1: a Christian, the slave would be tempted to take advantage
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  Speaker 1: of the new relationship and to trade upon it. Isn't
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  Speaker 1: that worded well to trade upon it? He might use
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  Speaker 1: the new relationship as an excuse for producing inefficient work
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  Speaker 1: and then expecting to escape punishment. He might think that
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  Speaker 1: the fact that both he and his master were Christians
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  Speaker 1: entitled him to all kinds of special consideration and special allowances.
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  Speaker 1: He might use the fact of his own and his
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  Speaker 1: master's Christianity to be a lazy and inefficient servant who
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  Speaker 1: was exempt from discipline and punishment. Now a word is
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  Speaker 1: in order for Christian employers. You can also have two
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  Speaker 1: great expectations. You and I can be unfair task masters.
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  Speaker 1: We can take advantage of fellow Christian men and women, again,
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  Speaker 1: because of a mutual agreement in faith. We can view
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  Speaker 1: them as simply being one hundred percent available, one hundred
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  Speaker 1: percent of the time, and not honor their rights and
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  Speaker 1: their privileges. So it works both ways, doesn't it. The
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  Speaker 1: point is this, having the authority does not grant anyone
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  Speaker 1: the right to take unfair and unrealistic advantages of anyone else.
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  Speaker 1: If you are a Christian and you work in a
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  Speaker 1: Christian organization, take a good look at your efficiency. Be
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  Speaker 1: tough on yourself, tougher than your boss would be. Ask yourself,
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  Speaker 1: do I deserve what I'm getting in this pay and
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  Speaker 1: in this work? Am I carrying my share of the load?
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  Speaker 1: Am I taking advantage of my boss who might be
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  Speaker 1: too nice to tell me the truth?
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  Speaker 2: Come to terms with that.
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  Speaker 1: If you are one who serves the Christians, serve them
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  Speaker 1: all the more. Christians can be hard to work with,
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  Speaker 1: can't they. You don't have to say amen, You can
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  Speaker 1: just think that and just sit there. I understand, I
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  Speaker 1: really do. We have a marvelous relationship here in our church,
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  Speaker 1: but it is not free of any conflict.
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  Speaker 2: We have to deal with.
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  Speaker 1: Employer and employee relationships. We are just like any other place.
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  Speaker 1: We are people with sinful natures, and we have to
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  Speaker 1: come to terms with relationships in this workload of this place,
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  Speaker 1: which is enormous and at times, we have to have
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  Speaker 1: long sessions together where we hammer out disagreements, and if
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  Speaker 1: we don't, we.
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  Speaker 2: Pay for it as the barbs and.
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  Speaker 1: Breakdowns occur in our relationships. So that's true in a
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: wonderful place like this, and it is an enviable place
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: to be. It certainly would be true where you work.
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: Much of what we ask of those who are serving
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: on the staff in any capacity is that they do
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: a good job of self analysis. Don't require of those
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: over you the need to slap your hand on occasion.
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: If that's necessary, it can be done, and it will
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: be done. But you do the slapping, You do the
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: self analysis. You take a look at how hard you're
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: working and how efficiently you're carrying out your task, and
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: a lot will be helped by doing that. Teach and
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: preach these principles. Emathy was encouraged to do that. Now
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: there's a third. There are those who rebel against truth.
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: I had never seen it quite like this until I
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: did some digging into this passage, and I now realize
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: that the whole section that we're looking at does indeed
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: address authority. That this individual is a person who resists truth,
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: the truth of God, and he is not identified. He's
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: simply called anyone. If anyone advocates what a pastor's pet,
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: hobby horse, no, some spiritual leader's personal conviction about a
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: minor issue. No, it's not talking about that. If anyone
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: advocates a different doctrine. Heteros is another of a different kind.
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: We have the word heterosexual, which means the.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: Opposite male and female. We have homo sexual referring to
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: the same or the same kind or the same realm
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: of interest. Heteros means another of a different kind, different
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: entirely as one man translates it, something diametrically opposed to
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: what is right.
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: Now, that's the point.
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: This is not an individual in the church who happens
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: to hold another opinion than the pastor may hold on
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: a minor subject. That happens all the time, and that's
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: not only that's not only true, that's healthy, that keeps
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: everybody honest.
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: But this is an.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: Individual who holds a diametrically different position regarding truth. Notice,
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: he doesn't agree with sound words, he doesn't agree with
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: those of the Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn't agree with
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: doctrine informing to godliness. So it's very clear this is
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: a major disagreement. This is a person who resists the
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: statements of scripture. The word sound means wholesome, well and
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: healthy sound words. We get our term hygiene from the
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: term translated sound words, those words of the Lord Jesus
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: and doctrine conforming to Godliness. That means reverence toward God,
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: a proper attitude of the individual before Almighty God.
• 28:36
  Speaker 2: That's the idea.
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: Now hold on to your hat. You might think, well,
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: we need to be tolerant with a person like that.
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: We need to just understand that there are differences of
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: opinion in the church, and we need to give everybody
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: room to be or, as the word is today, space
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: give them space Verses four and five. Don't give anybody
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: any space. He is conceited. Well, that's a good beginning.
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: He understands nothing. He has a morbid interest. And haven't
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: you seen this true in controversial questions and disputes about words.
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: Now go back for a moment the first response, and
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: it's not overkill. It's a very healthy understanding of how
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: to deal with a heretic. It gives us gristle in
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: our backbone. It helps us resist those who would lead
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: the flock astray. It gives you a filter through which
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: you can set up your grid, and you have God's
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: direction on how to handle it. First of all, he
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: says he's got an inflated opinion of his own importance.
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: He's conceited. Second, he understands nothing. I thought the term
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: was interesting. The original Greek word means sick in the mind,
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: is mentally ill, mentally off. An illness of the mind
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: has occurred in this person so that his thinking is miswired.
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: And what is his interest in it is in controversial questions,
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: word battles.
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: I call it.
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: This individual disputes over turns, out of which there are
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: other attitudes such as envy and strife and abusive language
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: and evil suspicions.
• 30:41
  Speaker 3: Wow.
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: You know, I thought I was being a little bit
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: tough when I came to an interpretation of verse four,
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: and then I read Phillip's paraphrase. If anyone tries to
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: teach some doctrinal novelty which is not compatible with sound teaching,
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: which we based on Christ's own words, and which leads
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: to christ like living, he is a conceited idiot.
• 31:08
  Speaker 2: Wow.
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: His mind is a morbid jumble of disputation and argument,
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: things which lead to nothing. But jealousy, quarreling, insults, and
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: malicious in uindos. Ever been around a person like that?
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: You bet so have I. It's an extremely difficult place
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: to be, isn't it?
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: Now? This is not true.
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: He's not true yet, he says in verse five, there
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: is constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of.
• 31:48
  Speaker 2: The truth.
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: Who suppose that Godliness is nothing more than a way
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: of making a pilot dough.
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: It's the way you could paraphrase it.
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: People who have this view of the Christian life are
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: dangerous people. They are folk who view the Christian life
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: as simply a means of making money. Godliness actually is
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: a means of great gain, says the Apostle, when accompanied
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: by contentment. And he doesn't have in mind magna pile
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: a dough. That kind of gain is not in mind.
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: It's a kind of gain that brings great benefit to life.
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: Christianity does, in fact give you peace when nothing else
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: can give. It can give you a satisfaction and direction
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: in life that nothing else can bring. Thayer says that
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: contentment is a perfect condition of life in which no
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: aid or support is needed. Isn't that a great word?
• 32:55
  Speaker 2: A perfect condition?
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: In life in which there is no other aid or
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: support needed.
• 33:02
  Speaker 2: Christianity can provide that.
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: I would say it is a mind at peace with itself,
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: free of any material crutches to lean on.
• 33:11
  Speaker 2: It is secure and relaxed. That's contentment. More on that later.
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: He talks a lot about contentment and the passage it follows.
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: Now, let me.
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: Wrap it up. This is the way we are to
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: carry this out. Okay, this is the way we do
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: it when we are with the non Christian superior. Let's
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: leave no reason for the person to question our faith.
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: No reason for the person to question our faith doesn't
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: mean we can't disagree or won't disagree. Surely we will
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: at some point with the non Christian. But let's leave
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: no reason for the person to question our faith. Let's
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: not call that individual to doubt the Christian faith that
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: we embrace, and certainly not to be surprised that we
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: are believers. I think it's helpful in the world in
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: which we live, which will never be Christian till Christ returns.
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: It will never bear the marks of Christianity, that is,
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: in the majority of the sense of the word. In
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: this world in which we live, while we are aliens
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: and while we are strangers and pilgrims. Let's commit ourselves
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: to the right kind of infection. Let's spread the right
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: kind of germs. And I think in order to do that,
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: you need to have a thick skin. You need to
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: be able to take the blunt blows from a secular world.
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: You have to let the blows hit you, but not
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: affect your inner man. In his book A Casket of Cameos, F. W.
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: Borham reflects on the faith of Harriet Beecher Stows. Uncle Tom,
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: you remember, the old slave had been wrenched from his
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: old Kentucky home and put on a steamship headed for
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: an unknown place.
• 35:10
  Speaker 2: It was a terrible moment.
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: Of crisis or Uncle Tom. Borham observes Uncle Tom's.
• 35:16
  Speaker 2: Faith was staggered.
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: It really seemed to him that in leaving Aunt Chloe
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: and the children and his old companions, he was leaving God.
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: Falling asleep, the slave had a dream. He dreamed that
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: he was back again, and that Little Eva was reading
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: to him.
• 35:34
  Speaker 2: From the Bible.
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: He could hear her voice. When thou passest through the waters,
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: I will be with THEE, for I am I the Lord,
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: thy God, the Holy One of Israel. I am thy Savior,
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: Borham continues. A little later, poor Tom was writhing under
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: the cruel lash of his new owner.
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: But says missus.
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: Stowe, the blows fell only on the outer man, and
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: not as before, on the heart. Tom stood submissive. And
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: yet the master named Lagree could not hide from himself
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: the fact that his power over his victim had gone.
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: As Tom disappeared in his cabin and Lagree wheeled his
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: horse suddenly around there passed through the tyrant's mind one
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: of those vivid flashes that often send the lightning of
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: conscience across the dark and wicked soul. He understood full
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: well that it was God who was standing between him
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: and Tom that kind of thick skin.
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: Don't be so sensitive.
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: Understand that those without Christ are without Christ. They cannot
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: treat you christian like. Even if they try. They need Christ.
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: Without Christ, there will not be the right kind of treatment.
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: And let's leave no reason for our faith to be questioned.
• 37:16
  Speaker 2: Now with the.
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: Christian Let's refuse to take any unfair advantage, whether we
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: work for or over Christians. Let's refuse to take any
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: unfair advantage. I believe that's what verse two is saying.
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: Serve them all the more you're a Christian superior, be
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: a good boss, be fair, be a model of all.
• 37:46
  Speaker 2: The things you expect. You represent the diligence you expect
• 37:52
  Speaker 2: of your employee.
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: You represent the integrity you want to see in them.
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: You represent the purity that you expect of them. You'll
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: have much less difficulty with those who work for you
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: if you model all those things and with scripture. Let's
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: put our energy into application rather than discussion. I would
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: love to see that happen among more Christians. I love
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: to see Bible classes, and I love to see groups
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: spring up where there can be nurture and growth around
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: the word. But I don't like the idea that there's
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: just discussion, only to meet next week for more discussion.
• 38:40
  Speaker 2: We need application. We need to do it.
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: Remember Kenny Poor's words.
• 38:47
  Speaker 2: We need to do it.
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: To do it, we don't simply need to talk about it.
• 38:54
  Speaker 2: Let's do it. That's very good. Turn to Matthew twenty.
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: And let's set our faces toward that which is the
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: most significant part of these moments. Together, you talk about
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: one who was between a rock and a hard place,
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: the Lord Jesus, our loving perfect Savior, facing a kangaroo
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: court and godless men and tyrants who were to nail
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: him to a cross. Matthew twenty six, verse thirty six.
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: You talk about submission to authority. Then Jesus came with
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: them to a place called gethsemone and said to his disciples,
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: sit here while I go over there and pray. And
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: and began to be grieved and distressed. And he said
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: to them, my soul is deeply grieved to the point
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: of death. Remain here and keep watch with me. And
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: he went a little beyond them and fell on his face.
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: Now watch the submission, And he prayed, saying, my father,
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: Yet not as I will, but as thou wilt. He
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: to Peter, so you men could not keep watch with
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: me for one hour, keep watching and praying that you
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing and
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: the flesh is weak.
• 40:46
  Speaker 2: Next verse.
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: And he went away a second time and prayed, saying,
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: my father, there's the authority, My father, If this cannot
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: away unless I drink it, forwards, Thy will.
• 41:07
  Speaker 2: Be done.
• 41:10
  Speaker 1: Let's bow together. We thank you our father, for giving
• 41:22
  Speaker 1: your son, and we thank you that he paid it all.
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: We find ourselves overwhelmed as recipients of a gift, since
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: we work for everything in life. Seems the hardest thing
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: simply to accept as a gift, the most valuable possession
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: on earth.
• 41:50
  Speaker 2: But we do.
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: Thank you for stopping us in our work and forcing
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: us to come only by faith to you show us
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: again the value now of living like that. Remind us
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: anew that those who walk by faith.
• 42:12
  Speaker 2: And not by sight.
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: Are really the most contented people on earth. We pray
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: in the name of Christ our contentment Amen.
• 42:26
  Speaker 3: The preceding message responding correctly to authority was copyrighted in
• 42:30
  Speaker 3: nineteen eighty four, and the sound recording was copyrighted in
• 42:33
  Speaker 3: twenty fifteen by Charles R. Swindall, Inc. All rights are
• 42:37
  Speaker 3: reserved worldwide.