A Biblical Theology of Work | Adult Sunday School

Welcome to Kootenai Community Church Adult Sunday School. And I'm just up here this morning to kind of give you a sense of how we're going to start doing it at least in the short term. What has happened is we have been given by God's grace a wealth of teachers and as you know sometimes One teacher will be up here one week.

And they'll be one up the next week. What we are going to try to do from here on out until we get the upstairs done. And then it will be in flux again for a short time. But until then we're going to have more of a consistent Teaching so one teacher will be up here for several weeks.

Maybe a couple of months if necessary if that's how long his Series takes and then we'll go to a different teacher, so I'm working on Daniel. Daniel is cooperating and We're getting there, but this morning We're going to be starting a biblical theology of work with David Forsyth and is it a nine week series.

It's a nine week series and then We have David Henke is in in the wings, and we have other people in the wings. I see Jeff's here and and all kinds of people who just have a lot to say about God's Word, but this morning.

So David will start that class. And if you want to just come on up and take over the Sunday school morning. Does that does everybody understand that was I clear? Enough.

Okay, good enough. Thank you. Well, let's open with a word of prayer. Father thank you that we can get here together this morning and gather and open the Word of God. May you work through your spirit in our lives help us father to be attentive to the word.

May you enable us to really hear it with ears of faith and Lord to apply the truth where applicable in each and every one of our lives father. Your word is so perfect so Insightful, it's like a scalpel.

That does the delicate work of heart surgery and we're so grateful for it in Jesus name. Amen. Well, we are beginning a series called a biblical theology of work so this is probably a little different and It's typically done.

So we're going to be ransacking the scriptures together over nine weeks and Applying the truth found therein to build a theology with regard to the topic of work. But let me begin a little bit lighter.

Tone as we start and just share with you some funny statements that have been drawn from job applications. You remember those at least I remember them when you fill them out by hand and turn them in. But here are a few just to get you thinking.

Reasons for leaving the last job. They insisted that all employees get to work by 845 every morning couldn't work under those conditions or another was was met with a string of broken promises and lies as well as cockroaches or.

One of my favorites the company made me a scapegoat just like my three previous employers.

So, oh.

Let's see. Here's one job objectives. My goal is to be a meteorologist. But since I have no training in meteorology, I suppose I should try stock brokerage. Oh. Just just a few more some typos. How typos misspellings can change the meaning of a word?

Here's one listed on a work experience dealing with customer conflicts that arouse or.

Or.

Develop and recommend an annual operating expense budget. I'm a rabid typist. And the last one instrumental in ruining ruining entire operation for a Midwest chain so yes a Misspelling can change the meaning of things.

The Purpose of Work Under the Lordship of Christ

So as we said, I want to start this morning and talk to you about the topic of work. This is an introduction and Introductions by necessity don't get down super deep. They're they're designed to invite us into think of an introduction to a book.

It's designed together to build that biblical theology. So just thinking about the topic of work on average we spend roughly 50 of our lives working. On average roughly 50 of our lives working yet for many people.

It is a source of great frustration and.

Pain.

That is unfortunately true. So let me begin and stimulate your thinking with regard to work by asking you a series of questions. Okay, these are just reflective questions for you to turn over in your mind.

How many of you like your job. Let's just start with that. How many of you like your job? Would you change jobs if you could. You don't have to answer these? Just think about it. Would you change jobs if you could.

How many of you are working simply for a paycheck. Working for a paycheck. I owe I owe so off to work I go right. Yeah, how many can't see how your work has any significance or? Eternal value. My work has no Significance no eternal value.

Is that kind of how you're thinking how you feel? Are you bored? And unchallenged at work. Do you see your job as repetitive routine and dead-end. Is that kind of the sense you have of it? Do you feel trapped in your job because of financial responsibilities?

Can't consider anything else. I I Got bills have to make a certain amount of money. The Sunday and Monday seem worlds apart. Can you communicate the purpose of your work in terms of your Christian faith.

Can you communicate the purpose of your work in terms of your Christian faith? Or are they disconnected? Are you hiding your Christianity Monday through Friday? Are you hiding it? Do you find it difficult to make complex ethical decisions?

And you've compensated by adopting a business ethic Monday through Friday and then a church ethic for the weekends. So I have my church ethics on Saturdays and Sundays and I have my business ethics Monday through Friday because why.

Well, it's a dog-eat-dog world. Do you hate your job? Do you hate your job? And you wonder what do you have looking forward to for the next 30 years? I hate this job. Get 30 years. But it's worse than a prison sentence.

Are you working for the weekend? TGIF. Right working for the weekend just got to get through to Friday. Or maybe if you're a little bit older. Are you working for retirement? I just got to hang on till I get to retirement man.

The magic age sixty two and a half sixty five sixty seven goes up by the way. Right figure that out goes keeps going up. I'm gonna hang on till retirement four years to go. Is that how you see work. Do you make plenty of money plenty of money.

Yet you're still very restless in your work. Just a restlessness.

Lack of contentment.

Do you wonder how to influence your co-workers for Christ? You know that I mean you've heard that enough on Sundays to know that I'm supposed to be doing this but I have no idea how. How do I do that.

Are you having trouble balancing work demands with your other interests and commitments. Work takes so much time That you have no time For other things. Do you feel like your job lacks dignity? No dignity in my job moms.

Do you feel yourself struggling to try to balance your responsibilities both in and outside the home. Got a struggle I've got I've got a boss and I. Right struggles. Do I balance all that if you're a stay-home mom?

Do you feel frustrated and undervalued? Does the workplace seem like it offers something that will fill the void. That you're missing being a being a stay-at-home. Mom's just not making it for me. I need something more.

The allure of the workplace.

Young mom.

Can you articulate to others? Why and how? Wiping runny noses and cleaning up spilled milk has eternal significance. Eternal significance. Wiping runny noses cleaning up spilled milk Has eternal significance, but do you know how and why would you agree with this statement?

Success in life means success at work. Success in life means success at work. In other words, if I am unsuccessful at work I will not ultimately be successful at life. Do you agree to that? I Mean you're spending 50 of your time Involved in work.

It's an important question. How do we judge success? How do you judge success? Do you judge it according to the four Ps? Promotion prestige.

Power.

Pay that how you judge it. That's success. I.

Could just get that promotion if I could just get this race. I just have my own office.

I'd be successful.

Terrible illusion. All right that's enough to hopefully get the gears cranking judging by the Solemn faces I'm looking at. I should go back to a couple more of those funny statements from job applications, but but it is a serious topic for sure and.

And let me just say this to you. We're gonna build a very robust and glorious Christ glorifying and and soul satisfying biblical theology of work. So the next eight weeks We're going to address this topic a topic that is seldom taught on in the church.

Seldom addressed.

Why why is it important that we do this. Why is this an important series? Here's your answer. It is because of the lordship of Christ.

That's why.

It is because of the lordship of Christ when God the Father raised Jesus from the dead. He made him Lord of all. Listen to Peter in Acts chapter 2 in verse 36. Let all the house of Israel know for certain That God has made him both Lord and Christ.

This Jesus whom you crucified. Jesus own words in Matthew 28 18. All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

All authority has been given to me.

It is ultimately a question of the lordship of Christ. And how does the lordship of Christ? Fit into the field of our work. How does it intersect? It's Paul who says that recognizing and submitting to the Jesus lordship is essential to salvation.

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead You shall be saved Romans 10 and verse 9. But the lordship of Christ applies to beyond merely the spiritual realm it applies to all aspects of life.

If he truly is.

Lord of all all authority in heaven and on earth given to him then he is Lord of all. Every aspect of our lives to be lived under the lordship of Christ and that includes That function in which we spend 50

2nd Corinthians 510. Paul writes. For we must all appear before the judge and seat of Christ so that each one may be recompensed for deeds in the body According to what he has done whether good or bad It is the lordship of Christ.

False Views of Work

Okay.

So.

Briefly very briefly. I want to just I've got four false views of work. Okay. Remember this is an introduction. We're not exhausting these topics. We're just Salting the oats. We're just putting it out there.

So I have four false views of work that I just want to go through with you quickly. And we will we will debunk them more fully as we develop over the next eight weeks. But for now Is this a start? So the first false view of work is that work is a result of the fall.

Work is a result of the fall. Therefore. It isn't necessarily evil. Okay, a lot of people won't articulate the second part of that. They'll say yeah work is a result of the fall and they won't put the second half.

But hey, you know what? It was a result of the fall then so Genesis chapter 3. Which is way back in the beginning, huh? We read in verses 17 and 18, oh, maybe we'll throw 19 in as well.

This is.

After the fall. Genesis 3 beginning in verse 17. Then Adam then to Adam. He the Lord said because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you. Saying you shall not eat from it cursed is the ground because of you.

In toil or literally in pain. Same word, by the way that spoken of of Eve in toil or pain. You will eat of it all the days of your life both thorns and thistles that shall grow for you and shall eat The plants of the field by the sweat of your face you will eat bread till you return to the ground.

Because from it you were taken for your dust and to dust you shall return. Whoa. That doesn't look very glorious. That doesn't look very worse. So this idea that work is a result of the fall and the corollary therefore it is necessarily evil.

Okay, it confuses something here. And what it confuses is the result of the fall upon work. Which makes it more difficult and frustrating. With the purpose of work which was given by God before the fall.

And if you let your eye flip back to chapter 2 in verse 18, you find it there. Okay, it's important to make sure we understand which side of the fall we're talking about. To 18 then the Lord God said it is not good for the man to be alone.

I'll make a helper suitable For him and that's not the verse I was looking for. It's 15 is the verse I was looking for. 18 is a good verse 2 by the way. Okay that actually launches a whole series on marriage.

But here we are 15. Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. There we go. Okay pre-fall. So the idea that that work is a result of the fall is just a confusion of order in the biblical text.

So work is not an evil to be avoided. It's a good to be embraced. It's good to be embraced. Another false view is derived from 2nd Peter 3 7 where Peter writes. But by his word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

So this second false view is the notion that it's all going to burn. Anyway, why bother? It's all gonna burn anyway, why bother. So in its extreme this view assumes that since God has promised To consume the earth in the fires of judgment anything we do which is of an earthly nature is at best temporal and ultimately.

Futile.

See, this is how the false reasoning.

Progresses.

It's all gonna burn. So any effort I put in beyond what's necessary to get by? Is a waste. It's not gonna burn. Anyway, I mean why sustain the creation if it's going to be destroyed anyway. The answer is is Because it reflects the image of God.

Christ himself.

Sustains the creation. Colossians 117 he is before all things and in him all things hold together. He is the one who sustains the creation and he doesn't just sustain it in a in a bearish simplicity painted with with shades of gray.

Christ sustains the creation in in beauty and complexity. With sights and sounds and even the best HD television struggles to try to reproduce. So plant your garden paint your house build a bookcase. Pick up the trash.

Write poetry.

Music. Or in doing so you are emulating Christ. You are emulating Christ. There's a quote that's attributed to Martin Luther the Great 16th century reformer. It goes like this. According to the Attribution, by the way, no one can seem to find it in any of Luther's writings.

Okay, just let you know that so doesn't prove that he didn't say it but there's not a lot of evidence but go on the internet everyone attributes it to Luther so. There it is. It goes like this. Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces I would still plant my apple tree.

So whether Luther said it or not. I like it. And it's and it contains a great kernel of truth. Plant an oak tree that will outlive you. Why. Because you're emulating Christ. That's why. False view. You can't serve God and mammon.

Right. Matthew 6 24. Matthew 6 24. No one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and Despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth or mammon if you like the old King James.

Which is unfortunately or fortunately the way I memorized it. This idea that you can't serve God and wealth or God and mammon is is based on a mistaken understanding of what Jesus is actually saying here in the Sermon on the Mount in chapter 6 and verse 24.

What he is addressing here is ultimate loyalties. That's what is that question? Ultimate loyalties who and what will we worship? That's what Jesus is addressing there he is not making a negative statement upon the life spent working and being paid for one's work and being a thrifty person and Accumulating a measure of financial wealth.

Okay. It is not about that. It is about ultimate loyalties, where does your loyalty lie? Who or what do you worship? That's what it's about. Now this idea that you can't serve God and mammon Leads into and is sometimes associated with the fourth and final false view here that I have for you.

And that's this I call it the sacred secular divide the sacred secular divide. The basic idea behind that is it is that God has two types of people he has those few individuals who are special and have been called by him to the spiritually higher plane of.

Ministry and.

Then there's everybody else in this view. The the called are closer to God more sensitive and obedient to his word. Yeah, even more holy and ultimately closer to God's heart therefore. They are often the ones called on to pray.

Did you ever notice that? Hey pastor, would you pray for us? We're just having lunch together. Like anybody here is capable of this. These called ones are the sacred workers. They're the clergy. Everybody else is the laity.

Got clergy and laity now. This type of thinking is totally foreign to the New Testament totally foreign instead finds its roots in a misinterpretation of the Old Testament priesthood. It assumes that the mode of the Levitical priesthood continues even to this day.

Well, the most obvious examples of all this is seen in the Roman Catholic Church. Okay, this is classic Roman Catholic theology and ecclesiology but Protestantism has also drunken deeply of this poisoned.

Well. We Protestants we have drunk deeply of this poison. Well as well. Peter says all believers are part of a new priesthood not based upon physical descent but upon the saving grace of God. First Peter 2 9.

But you are a chosen race a royal priesthood a holy nation a people for his own possession. That you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. We are a priesthood.

There is no clergy laity. Distinctions. We see this manifestation of the sacred secular divide. It's revealed in an often unspoken pecking order. That goes something like this. The real spiritual ones are the missionaries.

Missionaries followed by church planters.

Their second.

Church planters missionaries church planters pastors missionaries church planters pastors for Christian workers this bivocational pastors. Bivocational pastors Europe. Yeah, you're only a bivocational pastor.

My son's a missionary nice. It's unspoken usually. But believe me it exists. Very much. Yes, the message is always not so subtle. But it's basically this if you really want to serve God. You need to quit your job go to seminary and become a missionary or pastor.

You really want to serve God? Quit your job go to seminary become a missionary or a pastor and then You will be serving God. There's a lot of people don't desire that. They don't want to quit their job and go to seminary.

But if this Prevailing notion is actually true then then basically what happens is is That for all those who don't quit their job and go to seminary Then their role becomes that essentially of a someone who contributes a few volunteer hours a week.

Puts money in the operating plate so that real ministry can be accomplished. So, hey, you know, you know seminary that's powerful sold off for God. But other than that, you know what show up Volunteer put money in the plate every week.

We'll take care of the real ministry for you many many churches are Not on this, you know, they wouldn't have taken away like that. That's crass, but that's kind of how it's put together. Listen to me beloved if you must disengage from work in order to do real ministry.

Then unless you quit your job You can only be at best a part-time Christian a lay person. Say it again if you must disengage from work in order to do real ministry. Then unless you quit your job, you can only be at best a part-time Christian a lay worker a lay person.

But that certainly is contradicted by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4 Verses 11 to 13 where he writes he gave some as Apostles some as prophets. Some as evangelists and some as pastor teachers for the equipping of the Saints for the work of service.

Do you see that? For the equipping of the Saints for the work of service so the building up of the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and Of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ the work of the ministry is done by The believers the body of Christ.

Furthermore if.

50 of your life is off-limits to the Bible. Except for a few commands like well thou shall not steal. So, you know, hey don't steal at work. Then essentially your work has no value to God and if your work is no value to God You're at best a second-class citizen, but that is not true.

It is not true. So we must not let these false assumptions even motivated out of a genuine desire to honor God. Shape our understanding of this most important aspect of human life. As Paul says we must take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ Second Corinthians 10 5.

A Biblical Theology of Work: Seven Topics for the Series

Oh, this is good. I'm gonna I'm gonna be able to put some time in the bank. Okay, I'm gonna introduce you to a concept. It's called time in the bank and it works like this if I finish before the appointed finishing time.

Then all of that time accrues into a bank to be utilized at a later point. Understand. All right. That's how it works.

How it works?

So the messages over the next couple of months are designed to help us Systematically build out our Christian worldview with regard to work. That's what we're.

Shooting for.

Okay.

So I want to do it through eight. Well, excuse me. Seven topics. Seven topics. There's eight messages because one is so voluminous. It won't fit into a single. It's a two-parter. Okay, but here are the seven topics that I plan to cover together with you.

Number one. Workers by design. We are workers by design. All right. So we will spend a good amount of time in the first couple of chapters of Genesis. And then we will deal with the problem of work. In other words we're going to look at work pre fall and post fall so that we have a really clear understanding of What's true?

What's not?

Okay. Well the problem with work. Third work and the wisdom of Proverbs. Work and the wisdom of Proverbs. And we will speak about laziness in work. Okay, then fourth the redemption of work. The redemption of work.

Work spoiled. Work redeemed by Christ. That's what we will look at. What does it mean that work has been redeemed by Christ? Fifth the doctrine of vocation. It's a neat old word from the Latin vocare.

It means to summon or to call. What is a vocation. It is your calling. What is your calling. Because you all have one. And I'll tip my hand a little. It is not necessarily a lifetime.

Calling.

It can and frequently does change. What is your calling. The doctrine of vocation by the way a great lesson for young people? Coming of age in life like what am I gonna do with my life? I just want to get a job make money.

Not the doctrine of vocation. Okay, there's so much more. So much more. Six. We'll look at work and the Great Commission. Work and the Great Commission. In other words, what does evangelism and work? How do they relate to one another?

How do I? Evangelize at work.

Hint.

It's not standing around the water cooler. Talking about Jesus while you're being paid to do something else.

Okay.

Just put it out there right now. That's not what it is. And then seven work and welfare how are. The glorious truth of work and the necessity of Welfare like the care of the less fortunate. How do they relate?

We're living in a very broken system. Very broken. So do we just say hey, you know what? It's a broken system and there's nothing we can do and just. That's what it is. Or is there a way to salvage and reclaim the glory of Christ?

With regard to the care of. Further needy. What role does the church play? What role do I play as an individual? What role do you play? That's the two-parter by the way work in welfare. So next week We begin by learning that God designed work and created us to participate with him in it.

Okay, that's the big idea. Big idea next week is that God designed work and he created us to participate with him.

In it.

Okay.

If we catch a vision of that All kinds of glories begin to open up before us. I think I have eight minutes nine. Okay, this is probably the last time that I'm going to say is anyone have any questions because other than that I've got so much I want to say there ain't gonna be no time.

So I'm gonna do to you what was done to me when I was in seminary. Which is I had a professor who taught like this With his head still down. He'd say any questions. Fine. Let's continue, right? Yes, fortunately time is not inflating.

But yeah, I got it Peter pre Noahic post Noahic and and the I'd have to think about that. So we're talking about the effect of the flood upon work. Is that kind of your question? I don't know. Let me cogitate on that.

Well, if you got a if you got a question, that's more specific.

I'd love to hear it. Okay.

Yeah, I would so I'll just respond to that now. No, I don't agree with that. Yeah, I don't agree with that.

Okay, good next.

Well, I hope you're good. That'd be no way.

Exactly. It would be it would be well done.

Yeah, well, I hope I've just Yeah teased you a little bit like an introduction is designed to do draw you in. Hope you'll come. Think it'll be a blessing it revolutionized have to revolutionize my life in the preparation of the material That God enabled me to prepare and preach ten years ago.

Yes. Yes. Okay, so the question was is how can we help teach children grandchildren that their Activities even small ones that are seemingly insignificant are done for the glory of God. That's a good question I think we will we will address that from a lot of different angles.

Hopefully we'll get you the answer. You're specifically looking for but if not At some point I'll have to wedge in some time for a for a question along that line. But yeah I think it begins with understanding.

What is the glory of God?

Good thank you. Very good.

One of oh sweet. Yeah, I was not intending to address that in this series. I think Jim has addressed it a Number of times in the last well since I've been here in the exposition of Hebrews 10 And 11 and now into 12 and so yeah, we are living in perilous times for sure.

And and the the world is seeking to squish us into their mold and so as believers, we've got to know where the boundaries lie and When we are willing to take that stand which may cost us our job. And I think a right understanding of the of a theology of worship will help clarify that decision so in that sense maybe but not not specifically taking up woke culture and Corrupt money and I mean I got a whole lecture series on money and but not for here and not on a Sunday morning some other time perhaps but Okay.

Yeah, okay. Well, you successfully used up all but four minutes of my banking time. Well done. Let's pray. Well father. We have but barely scratched the surface of a of a really important and Far-reaching topic and father we confess that that often we just go about our lives particularly in in these areas of work without a lot of thought.

We get up in the morning and we go to work and we come home from work and we work hard and and we've heard those exhortations to work honestly and to work hard and and We seek to do that we seek to bring glory to Christ in that way and and that clearly does bring glory to Christ.

But father if if our understanding of work doesn't extend beyond that then we're missing so much. And it's a it's a reality that there are many Christian people good solid Genuine Christian people who find work very frustrating and they struggle to reconcile That which they Hope for with that which they have and so father me you Enable us to just have a better understanding of these things and and help us.

I Think of young people who are starting out and considering careers and career decisions. There's so much involved in that and again, there there's often a Just a lack of wisdom. So father grant us in the mind of Christ in these things.

We pray for his sake in name. Amen. All right blessings on you.