9/6/2015 What To Do With A Sinning Brother and Why? Steve Mixsell

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9/6/2015 What To Do With A Sinning Brother and Why? James 5:19-20 Steve Mixsell

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10/4/2015 The Word Of God Obeyed Pastor Josh Sheldon

10/4/2015 The Word Of God Obeyed Pastor Josh Sheldon

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Good morning Before I begin I feel compelled as always to go to the Lord in prayer again dear
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Heavenly Father in Jesus name I just want to thank you for your incredible mercy and kindness, which is so great
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I know too much to me and to all those whom you've brought in to that to be among those saved and In the kingdom of the
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Son of your love And father I just want to confess my ultimate utter dependence on your mercy and kindness and Humbly ask that you'll not let my many failings and weaknesses stand in the way of your word going forth with clarity and with power to tell of your great saving power and mercy and to tell of the way in which we should walk and the way in which we should think and And father
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I just again cast myself upon your mercy and he humbly asked that you will grant me clarity of speech grant me to speak your word accurately and with the spirit in which it was intended and Father above all that the glory of your son may shine through and not be obstructed by my many failings
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And I ask these things in Jesus name for your glory. Amen Our text for today is
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James chapter 5 verses 19 and 20 the last two verses of the book of James As we come to the end of the book of James This great book of practical theology
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As an aside Lord willing I intend to do a two in two months time Lord willing we all live in two months time a summary of the book of James So in one sense we come to an end in another sense.
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We're not quite there yet But as we seek to bid a fitting farewell to this great book of New Testament wisdom
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Which concludes somewhat surprisingly and abruptly with these two verses beginning at verse chapter 5 verse 19
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Brethren, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back Let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins
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At first glance it seems that this is a startling and unexpected end to the book of James as you know
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I'm probably as big a proponent of the greatness and grandness of the book of James as there is
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I think a fitting Title for any commentary on James would be epistle of gold and stark contrast to some who in the past have called it an epistle of straw when contrasting it to the great
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Works of grace such as the book of Romans, but I don't hold to that view I am a as strong a proponent of there is of this book as as at the top of the scriptural pyramid so to speak
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But even I until recently looked at these last two verses and kind of said, huh?
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It seems kind of anticlimactic and almost as just an FYI and you'll notice a peculiar thing
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That James doesn't even tell us he doesn't even urge us to go and pursue the sinning brother
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He just gives us the little bit of information that if any one of you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back
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FYI You'll save a sinner from the error of his way Save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins and then of course, there's no closing
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So it's my modest and simple goal I hope that some of you did are not expecting me to exhaustively cover how we do
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Matthew 18 and all these things that Sometimes our flesh is is too ready to do to Rebuke our brother and reprove him and by the way
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One of the things I hope to show and if nothing else is that the way we deal with our sinning brother is with love and compassion
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It's with the same love we show to all the brethren and I hope to show that in context of James that's exactly what he's saying as he concludes with this and that the the part of Reproof and correction which we tend to think of first that that of the wagging our finger at someone and saying them there to be
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Blamed and they're doing damage to the church That only comes at the very end of a long process whose goal is restoration.
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It's a manifestation of love and Scripture makes it clear that even if we get to that last stage where we must show formal reproof by either
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No longer keeping company with someone or even having them Disciplined by the church even that is to be done as one would admonish a brother in love.
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I like to say that at first in case I Don't get there as usual I have more in my notes than can fit safely within our allotted time
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So by way of making sure that the most important gets stated first and is not lost
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I simply say that Aside from that my modest goal today is show you that this is not as it first would appear an
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Anticlimactic and To the greatest book. I'm convinced of practical New Testament godliness and task theology practical theology there is
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Instead I hope to show you first that this is an appropriate ending because it fits into the flow of the final concluding remarks of James which begin in chapter 5 verse 7
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Second that it is an appropriate ending because it fits into one of the great central truths of the
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Christian faith Which therefore inevitably runs not only through the entire book of James?
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but also through all of Scripture and Third that it is not an anticlimactic ending to the book, but instead an appropriate one
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Because when these verses are examined in context both in the book of James and all of Scripture it can be seen
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That the activity they describe Pursuing the wandering or sinning brother is of great importance.
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It is of great importance We can see this in the text
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It's the reason why James tells us that He who turns a sinner back from the air of their ways will save a soul from death.
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That is obvious in our text a A Great divine,
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I don't know who I heard this secondhand through Alistair Begg Said something like this and it's a it's a thought that I wholly subscribe to I don't think it can be argued with and that Is that the salvation of a single soul is of greater importance in the grand scheme of things than the rise or fall?
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of civilizations and empires I I subscribe to that because civilizations and empires are temporal and the salvation or Damnation of a soul involves something eternal that does not fade away, and I don't think it's hyperbole.
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It's not going one wit too far so to save a soul from death is A service of greater importance than to save a nation from conquest
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These heroic things that we so often lionize people for George Washington Grant Patton Eisenhower these these winnings of wars, so it's clear that this is the thrust of the text
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It's important for that reason, but I also hope to show you Even though it may or may not be obvious from our text.
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It all depends on how you interpret and cover a multitude of sins He shall save us he who turns a sinner from the errors of his ways will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins if you interpret that as most do to be simply an explanation of of Saving a soul from death because you have turned them back from apostasy and therefore preserved them in salvation
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So that their sins are covered It's just it's just an amplification or an elucidation of saving us all from death
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I actually tend to think that it's referring to the one who Saves us all from death.
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I want to clarify that I want to make it clear This is a minority position and even more importantly I want to make it clear that the fact that it is important for another reason other than simply saving us all from death
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It's important for your own sake Is true and is clearly stated in Scripture whether or not you believe that?
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Covering a multitude of sins is referring to the one who saves It doesn't matter I would never waste a minute of time if it was not something that I'm convinced is clear in Scripture and therefore relevant to talk about and Because it's amplifying a point which is clearly there and that that it's very important that we pursue that we engage in this ministry of pursuing the sinning brother
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It's simply another reason why it's important So I don't feel it that it's an excursus, but I really want to To make it clear that that James concludes on something that which is of supreme importance, and I would argue this
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Whether or not again you take that position as I tend to I give the little quotes
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I tend to because it makes more sense to me that James would conclude with this It's of great importance because when rightly done
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Humbly pursuing the sinning brother is an act of true Christian humility and maturity
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Which is so pleasing to God That it can rightly be seen as carrying the promise that God will multiply graces upon the one who performs it
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Not in a theological sense that his sins will in any way be atoned for he'll but but it's a statement similar to The statement that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble
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Which should not be understood and James told us that it in chapter 4 should not be understood merely in a theological sense that if you
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Humble yourself unto salvation that you will receive grace But if you don't
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God will resist you God will judge your sins But also it's true even of the believer that to the degree to which you're humble yourself is
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The degree to which God multiplies graces to you he is for everyone but he is especially pleased when we humble ourselves and Toward accomplishing this first goal of showing you how this is an appropriate end because it's it's in context fits into James concluding remarks, which he began in chapter 5 verse 7 and Also beginning to show the importance of the task of correcting the sinning brother
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Let us begin by noting the fact that James begins his closing remarks by urging all
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Believers to patience in verse 7 Because just as the judgment of the wicked though certain is not immediate and that's chapter 5 verses 1 through 6
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So the many daily graces which the Lord grants to his children in this life require patience
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They must be waited for as the farmer waits for the early and latter rain before harvesting the crop verse 7 and Even more the ultimate grace which all believers wait for requires great patience
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The and that's the return of the Lord with his reward verse 8 James then commands us that we exercise as we exercise this patience
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We must not grumble and if you recall the Greek word that's translated grumble is stenadzo
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Which actually has a connotation of merely to sigh or groan So it's something much easier to do than actively grumbling against all right.
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It's simply Ken and I said
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Ken just because there's a lot of Kens in the in our church, but anytime we're exasperated So that we groan within ourselves
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That is something that we're getting on thin ice so to speak with our Lord and again, forgive me for using actual name
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But there's many Ken's so I speak of no one in particular. And of course, I could simply say as I know many of you say
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Steve sigh Get to the point So anyway, that is
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After verse 8 James commands us that we as we exercise this patient We must not grumble or even sigh or groan against one another
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Against any of the brethren verse 9, but instead should patiently in all things pray
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Verses 13 through 15 and humbly be transparent with one another Confessing our faults to one another as we continue to pray in every situation
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For all of the brethren verse 16 James then commands that this patient life occupied by humble prayer and supplication for one another for all the brethren
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He commends it to us by reminding us that prayer when properly done That is when done according to the will of God as revealed in the
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Word of God is mighty to move God to intervene on our behalf This prayer for all the brethren which we are to occupy ourselves with until he comes avails much and In showing us how much our prayers if rightly done avail
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James goes so far as to use the mighty prayers of Elijah as an example of what we can expect if our prayer is proper verses 16 through 18 and that brings us to our concluding verses today which must
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Properly be seen simply as the final example of the humble and prayerful love and concern
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That we are to have towards all the brethren we should urgently and prayerfully seek to turn the wandering stumbling sinning brother away from the error of his ways and Incorrect thoughts and beliefs back to the truth and to true and good conduct
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James would have us perform this task with all diligency by calling us to a sense of urgency as I spoke before By reminding us the stakes in the matter are high
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He who turns a sinner from the error of his ways will save a soul from death So I hope you can see that these concluding remarks are simply a call to make sure that this
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Deep deep prayerful and humble love we're supposed to have for one another which bears With one another is to include our sinning brothers and sisters
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Who are by their by the very nature of their sinfulness more difficult for us to love We should have the same love and concern for these sinning brothers and brothers and sisters as we do for all the brethren as we do even for our favorites among the brethren and I hope to show you
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Shortly that in also a sense this verse is a continuation of James teaching against partiality among the brethren
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There should be no partiality no disfavor for the sinning brother in seeing the pursuit of the sinning brother in context of James concluding remarks as simply a
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Manifestation of the deep love we are to have to all the brethren in the context of the sinning brother.
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I Hope it's somewhat self -evident That we are to pursue the wandering brother in love and that is by exhorting by speaking the truth first of all
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Exhortation has a has a certain connotation of stridency So it's intensified
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Proclaiming of the word then admonishing has a sense of even more Urgency as it carries a connotation of warning
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You're getting you're getting a little close to the edge there brother. I fear make sure you do not step in this
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Pothole to which you seem to be heading warning and then eventually reproving
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This process is all to be done in a spirit of goodwill and gentleness not harshly and not holding our noses as it were as though the whole matter were distasteful to us and We are certainly not to exhort
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Admonish and reprove The sinning brother with a sense of self -righteous superiority as the
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Holy Spirit tells us in Galatians 6 1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness considering yourself lest you be tempted and I am the of the
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Settled conviction that this verse stands for the proposition that the entire process or ministry of pursuing for the sake of restoration is
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Not only to be undertaken with the spirit of love and goodwill but also as fraught with pitfalls primarily the pitfall of self -righteousness and In fact the whole the idea and and forgive me for belaboring it because it is so not according to our nature
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Our inner Pharisee if you will allow me to coin the phrase The fact that this whole process of pursuit and correction is a manifest
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Manifestation of love both God's love for the erring child and it should be your love for the erring brother
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Can be seen in the two texts read and I have to make an aside to highlight the fact that that Men of failings are the one who bring you
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God's Word and so it was always a great trembling It was supposed to be a little bit Leviticus chapter 19 not chapter 9
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I don't know whose failure that was I might have given the wrong number or it might have been trope transposed wrong
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So what I won't I won't read the entire verse and I don't I'm not
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I'm not upset because the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two -edged sword and all scripture is is
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God breathed and therefore useful for correction, but Leviticus 19 is a long chapter that culminates it culminates
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With in verse 17 is a long passage You shall not hate your brother in your heart
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You shall surely rebuke your neighbor and not bear sin because of him You shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of your people but you shall love your neighbor as yourself
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I am the Lord and That comes at the end of a long list of the mercies
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We're to have that the kind regard the Israelites are to have to their fellow Israelites that they shouldn't glean their fields
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Because the poor among their brethren need to have those those fallen grapes
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Which harkens back to James exhortation not to despise the poor brother, but in this laughter in the midst of this long litany of Mercies and a commands that God gives as mercies the
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Israels to have to their brethren It says you shall not hate your brother in your heart
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You shall surely rebuke your neighbor and not bear sin because of him failure to rebuke is an act of Lack of love hatred even one might say
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You shall not hate your brother in your heart the contrast you're hating your brother in your heart
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Maybe not literally but figuratively you're doing him No favor if you refrain from Rebuking him and you'll be at bearing sin because of it your failure to rebuke him or to approve him or to pursue with correcting love is
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Causing you to bear sin and then in Matthew 18 where the whole context of church discipline
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Can clearly be seen as God's ordained mean for seeking and saving those who are wandering from the truth those who are lost so to speak and That despising a brother including despising a wandering brother by not pursuing him
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Even if that pursuit must lead to formal rebuke by the church is so displeasing to the
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Lord that you may risk the swift chastening in that those little ones
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Who include the wandering brethren's their angels always stand in the presence of God? They always see the face of their father ready to report any wrong done and ready to depart on a mission of chastening correction for any that despise those little ones
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And if you recall some of you Also as a way of showing that this is a fitting end to the book in one sense this verse
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Represents a culmination or climax of one of the great central biblical truths which runs majestically through all of Scripture and also therefore the book of James if you recall
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In in I believe it was my first message on the book of James a truth which resonated For many of you and as it should because it again it is a majestic and great truth precious to the soul is
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That James begins in chapter 1 by telling us that we should count it all joy when we fall into various trials
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Because God has sent the trial to do you good He is building you up.
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He's using the trial to create spiritual strength Endurance and maturity so that you may become a mature man or woman of God Lacking in nothing.
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That's chapter 1 verses 2 through 4 and then as I tried to show
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Continuing on and into verse into chapter 2 James urges us not to make the error as we so naturally do we're so naturally prone to Interpreting severe trials as that as if God is somehow less favorably disposed to us when times are good or easy
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God James warns us against thinking that somehow God is punishing you or trying to trip you up And that's chapter 1 verses 13 through 18 instead
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He reminds us that even our most difficult trials our darkest hours that God remains for us
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He tells us that every good and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the father of lights in whom there is
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No variation or shadow of turning and I tried to show that that phrase shadow of turning is not merely
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An amplification of that he doesn't change we know God doesn't change He is immutable, but one of the great truths is he doesn't change his attitude towards his children who are mutable
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We we wax and wane we we grow hot and cold we are prone to wander
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Lord, yes, we feel it prone to leave the God we love But he remains for us that that that no variation or shadow of turning has a connotation of Shadow of turning away.
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He does not turn away from you even in your worst times The trial is a gift a good and perfect gift sent from above From the father of lights in whom is no variation or shadow of turning
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So I would say that the probably the phrase would be better translated Every good and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the father of lights in whom there is no variation or shadow
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Of turning away, and I also want to point out that this great truth remains true
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Has all great truths they remain true in every situation Even if the trials we may be going through are a direct result of our own disobedience
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Even if we we are the stumbling erring sinning brother God remains just as much for us as in our best day
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Of course the form that his being for us will likely take on an unpleasant character as Scripture lets us know for whom the
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Lord loves he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives and Even though God's providence in these situations may in some way be unpleasant
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Make no mistake about it. The chastening is the chastening of a loving father who remains committed to the good welfare of his erring child and Dear brethren, it's just as important for us to know
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That as the Lord remains unswervingly for us during our most difficult trials as James told us in chapter 1 at the conclusion including those trials brought about by our own failure
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It's equally vital for us to know and remember that the Lord remains just as utterly and unswervingly
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For our sinning brother as a result.
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It is very pleasing by definition Because the Lord remains so unswervingly for us
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Regardless of our faults and failings By definition, it's very pleasing to the
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Lord that we love our erring brother that our love remains strong and Strong enough for us to be diligently humbly and prayerfully pursuing our sinning brother or sisters restoration by correction
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Make no mistake brothers and sisters the Good Shepherd takes great joy over one sinner who repents
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Over one erring child who regains the straight and narrow path that leads him to safety as the
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Holy Spirit tells us in Luke chapter 15 verses 4 through 10 What man among you having a hundred sheep if he loses one of them does not leave the ninety and the nine in the wilderness?
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And go after the one which is lost until he finds it and when he has found it He lays it on his shoulders rejoicing and he comes home and calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them
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Rejoice with me. I have found my sheep which was lost I say to you likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 persons who need no repentance
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Or what woman having ten silver coins if she loses one Does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it and when she has found it
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She calls her friends and neighbors together saying rejoice with me for I have found the peace which I lost
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Likewise I say to you there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents
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So I hope you can see that it's an appropriate end to the book of James which began by encouraging us to count it all joy
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When we fall into various trials Even if those trials are the result of our own sins because God has sent the trial to benefit us he remains for us and Just as much for us as he was in that day when he chose to shed the blood of his own son on our behalf
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And to give us Cleansed sinners as a love gift to his precious son
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That he should end the letter by reminding us of the importance of exercising the same vigil vigilant diligent
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Humble and prayerful love which we are commanded to have for all the brethren Even to those who may be straying so badly into sinful ideas and practices that they could rightly be described as having wandered from the truth
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Now before we go on I think it's worth pointing out that we know from Scripture the final and ultimate failure by the sinning or wandering brother
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To repent reveals that they never were a brother as 1st
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John 2 19 tells us They went out from us, but they were not of us for if they had been of us
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They would have continued with us, but they went out that they might be made manifest that none were of us however
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We must never think that that's for the Lord to decide That's for the
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Lord's final determination whether they will ultimately repent We must always view them as beloved of the
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Lord and as a brother We step into the Lord's domain when we start to Play around in our mind.
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Is this a goat a sheep? That is not what Scripture calls us to do. There is one judge and by his own master.
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He stands or falls But this this text makes it clear that even brethren will stumble and stumble badly and need pursuing as Do all the texts about the wandering sheep?
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Psalm 37 Verses 23 and 24 says this the steps of a good man are ordered by the
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Lord and he delights in his way Though he fall he shall not be utterly cast down for the
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Lord upholds him with his hand And Scripture is replete with examples of Great servants of the
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Lord even heroes of the faith such as David the man's after God the man after God's own heart Who was guilty of adultery with the wife of one of his most loyal servants as well as calculated and premeditated murder of that faithful servant
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And and a sin that went on over the process of quite some time Yet he finally and eventually repented when confronted by God's prophet
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Nathan and then there's also Peter a rock of the faith Who in cowardice denied the
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Lord three times before him being brought to repentance and restoration by our Lord. So make no mistake
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It is not a mark of of any less stature that one may stumble
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We must not think of our loving brother or our sinning brother with any less regard
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We must not despise them. We must not lightly regard them That's a command that God gives us towards all the brethren
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We must always take them to be Our brothers leaving it to God alone who can see into men's hearts to judge if indeed they are not
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That's just an aside So I hope we can see that the least of the
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Lord's servants remain precious to him jealously loved by him It's strongly highlighted throughout scripture
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I believe I I went into a fairly detailed look at several of the other scriptures in James beginning at chapter 2 the verses on partiality and That I believe is available online for you to review.
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I won't I Won't get into it, but I suffice to say That by way of quick summary when
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James tells us that we should not hold the faith of Jesus Christ the Lord of glory with partiality that peculiar parenthetical echoes a
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Tone that runs through several other texts where we're talked about being careful about the about The weaker brother and Not despising him not judging him and not causing them to stumble even with our deeper understanding of certain doctrines
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We are reminded that by his own master. He stands or falls Not to despise him and I'm convinced that that this
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Parenthetical tells us so much about the heart of God because it's so consistent with those other texts
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Which I will not get into now, but he says in essence Do not hold the faith of Jesus Christ and of course, he could have left the parenthetical out with partiality
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But he says the Lord of glory Why because the least of your brethren are?
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They were bought by the blood of Jesus Christ Do not cause to do not cause one to stumble for whom
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Christ died is another text that talks about these things whenever we are directed and Cautioned about how we should treat the least of our brethren.
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There are these strong Assertions of the glory of our
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Lord They are in a sense one of his and therefore do the same glory and respect that we have for the one who bought them with his blood and That's why he says do not hold the faith of the
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Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of glory With partiality Because when you disfavor a brother among you even the most the one you find most irksome or most difficult to love you are in essence dishonoring
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Christ How dare you disfavor someone that the Lord? chose before the foundation of the world and shed his blood for and of course
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We see other allusions to it. Jesus tells us that whatever we do to the least of his that we do to him
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He also reminds us that whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in him to sin it would bet be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea and Then in a passage,
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I believe we read before We're reminded to take heed that we do not despise one of these little ones for I say to you that in heaven
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There angels always see the face of my father who is in heaven The picture being that they're ready to intervene the angels are ready at the at the twitch of a nose the flick of a finger
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The signal like well -trained guard dogs They are ready to move
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So be careful take heed that you do not lightly regard one of these little ones because their angels always see the face of your father
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So we see the fear and trembling which should be associated with these commands that we not despise any of our brethren any of these little ones who are each the apple of his eye
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Or judge them by showing favoritism against them or despise them by failing to pursue them with as much love
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Pursue the sinning brother with as much love as we have for our favorites, so to speak
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And we see this the seriousness of the offensive favoritism I won't go back but it's covered by James in chapter 2 verses verses 4 through 11
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And I hope here that now you'll be quick to recognize
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That in the same way that despising or showing partiality against the least of his
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Is rep so reprehensible to God that it places us in danger of speedy and severe chastening
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Their angels always see the face of their father in heaven So the converse is true so is
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Diligently and humbly loving and showing a vigilant regard for the erring or sinning brother is by definition extremely pleasing to the
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Lord Yes again our Lord Jesus Christ the
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Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety and the nine to pursue the one straying sheep and Does so even to the ends of the earth?
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That old expression I'll pursue you to the ends of the earth consider this Jesus Christ did pursue you and I to the
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God forsaken end of the earth the cross The God forsaken end of the earth
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Calvary where he was in fact forsaken by God That's the degree to which he pursued you and I that's the degree to which he pursued the sinning brother and he is well -pleased when you imitate him by having the same mind of Pursuing the erring or sinning brother to even to the ends of the world
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You may never so closely resemble your Lord as when you do that. I Can't help but read
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Luke 19 8 through 10 the story of Zacchaeus a personal favorite Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the
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Lord look Lord. I give half of my goods and this is the tax collector of course the key is the great the great traitor against his people
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Israel who is Somewhat analogously to the sinning brother turned his back on Israel to to to give his allegiance to Rome that great worldly power for the sake of filthy lucre
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But when confronted with our Lord repents and then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord look I give half of my goods to the poor and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation
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I restore it fourfold and Jesus said to him Today salvation has come to this house
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Because he also is a son of Abraham for the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost
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So I couldn't resist. I didn't have to put that in there, but The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost and we are to seek to pursue the sinning brother
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Just as our Lord and Savior did And there we this we come to I think you're beginning to see why
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I think that Anyone who turns a sinner from the error of their ways will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins the multitude covering a multitude of sins
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I think may well be an Expression that God will multiply graces to us
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Similar again to the to the idea that when we say God gives God resists the proud to get but gives grace to the humble we understand that That In a sense
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God gives grace to all his children, but but it's it has a practical application. There's a practical application
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That's trying to be made that you so well Please your Lord when you perform this ministry that he'll be predisposed
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To not to make his his the way he deals with your sin not quite so open not quite not quite so hard He will deal with our sins
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There's no way in which it exonerates our sins, but it's an expression and and by way of a little again
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Nothing exegetically depends on this but I simply wanted to point out that there's a there are many texts which make the well -known and It would have been familiar to the
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Jews of the time That love covers a multitude of sins in other words
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God will God will really love that it will really please God In other words cover a multitude of sins is a phrase which is synonymous with a deep affection love
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Proverbs 1216 tells us a fool's wrath is known at once but a prudent man covers shame.
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He does not Bring it to the open. He does not say Look what Josh did look what no he he keeps it in his heart.
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He may pray he may gently try and Correct something that is blameworthy
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But he will not be quick to uncover it Proverbs 17 9 he who covers a transgression seeks love
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Proverbs 10 12 hate stirs up strife, but love covers all sins 1st
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Peter 4 7 through 8 But the end of all things is at hand therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers and above all
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Have fervent love for one another for love will cover a multitude of sins and so I think the most logical and exegetical
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Understanding of this phrase is that it is simply an Expression of what
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I've tried to show you from other texts that God is deeply pleased When you do this when you do when you pursue to the end of the earth the the sinner the way his son
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Pursued you and I and the sinning brother even to the godforsaken end of the earth the cross
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Now Somewhere I like to backtrack and we're coming to the end Somewhere in here may take me a second.
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I Just simply want to give you some verses which amplify the truth
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That this ministry is always performed with a spirit of goodwill
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Towards the sinning brother aiming at his restoration Even if we reach the stage where there's formal reproof involved
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Second Thessalonians verse verses 3 10 through 16 I'll start at verse 14 for the sake of time
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And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle and the context is he's just spoken of people who will not work
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But are going about as busybodies sponging off their brothers But as for you dear brethren do not grow weary in doing good and if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle
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Note that person and do not keep company with him that he may be ashamed Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother
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Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace always in every way the Lord be with you and that's the conclusion of Second Thessalonians and actually one of the verses
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I read you before is that I believe the conclusion of first Pete first Peter So we see this is often one of the one of the things that's brought up at the conclusion of letters
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But perhaps To leave you with as a final picture I think
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I think the idea that that this reproof which we so often think of in the context of the sinning brother this final
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Showing of the fact that Some displeasure needs to be shown some censure is
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The end of a process can be seen in Titus chapter 2 verses 1 through 15
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And I think I will read the whole passage To give you a flavor and what you're
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I hope to you'll see is that this is really just the culmination It's the end of what we do day in and day out and our own
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Constitution touches on this it talks about I can't remember the term they use in our
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Constitution that the real process of biblical correction is What's the word someone help me out?
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Who's we've just have been reading the Constitution. It's annoying me is Is it formative it is speaking the word to one another?
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It's it's an admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody in your heart with the
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Lord It It only it only becomes it gradually like along a spectrum gets more into exhortation and admonishment and then finally into reproof
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Titus 2 beginning at verse 1 But as for you speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine
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This is of course Paul to Titus a leader in the church Speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine that the older men be sober reverent temperate sound in faith
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And love and patience that the older women likewise that they be reverent in behavior Not slanderers not given to much wine teachers of good things
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That they admonish the young women to love their husbands to love their children to be discreet chaste
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Homemakers good obedient to their own husbands that the Word of God may not be blasphemed Likewise exhort the young men to be sober minded in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works in Doctrine showing integrity reverence incorruptibility
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Sound speech that cannot be condemned that one who is an opponent may be ashamed having nothing evil to say of you
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Exhort bond servants to be obedient to their own masters to be well -pleasing in all things not answering back not pilfering
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But showing all good fidelity that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things
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For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts.
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We should live soberly righteously and godly in this present age Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great
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Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for us That he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people zealous for good works speak these things
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Exhort and rebuke with all authority let no one despise you So we can see that the that the word rebuke is used at the end of this long
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Expression which tells Titus to speak things which are proper for sound doctrine to admonish to exhort to have conduct which adorns the teaching which which means that his his life is in accord with what he teaches and And then of course the teaching and then finally at the end
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He summarizes Paul does the Holy Spirit through the pen of Paul speak these things exhort and rebuke with all authority
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So I hope we can see that the reproof the censure
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Is just something that comes at the end of a long loving process It's a logical continuation of the deep and prayerful concern we have for one another and manifest by speaking
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God's Word into each other's lives and it's a
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It's a logical continuation of this deep and humble love which scripture calls upon us to have for all believers that even
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To have those even for those that are despised by the world such as the poor and the unlovely to have for even those who are our least presentable parts who are the feet and hands so to speak and even those that are the least of our brethren in our own eyes and finally
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We are called to continue to have this love and concern for a lot all of the brethren For those who are sinning among us and wandering from the truth
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And I put it to you That when we do this we are imitating our
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Lord Jesus Christ who pursued us The wandering and sinning
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Child to the end of the earth to the godforsaken end of the earth And that when done rightly
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This ministry of pursuit and correction is an act of humble Christian maturity
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Remember, it's for it's for those who are spiritual It's act of humble Christian maturity, which is so extremely pleasing to our
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Lord and Savior That we can expect things to go well with us
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So I would like to leave you with the fact that even if you can't accompany me in believing that the second half of verse 19 refers to the covering of one's own sins as An expression of God's deep pleasure when we undertake this ministry rightly.
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I Think that putting these two verses in the ultimate context of all of Scripture That are dealing with our sinning brothers and sisters or I should say dealing with all of our brothers and sisters
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Including our sinning brothers with the diligent humble and vigilant love
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Which recognizes that the least of his children in our eyes? Was bought with the precious blood of the
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Lord of glory and is therefore a pearl of great price to the Lord of glory One whom he would pursue even to the ends of the earth
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That we Perhaps never so well imitate our
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Lord and Savior the Good Shepherd When we're willing to pursue them to the ends of the earth Let us pray
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Dear Heavenly Father in Jesus name. I just thank you and praise you for your word Which is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, which is living and powerful sharper than any two -edged sword
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Penetrating our hearts and minds showing us the true state of our souls and And showing us the true path of righteousness father.
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I take great comfort in the fact that your Holy Spirit Broods over your word
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To bring power and conviction even when the delivery may not be the best father
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I just thank you so much for your overruling ministry that even our poor obedience can result in great benefit
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To our brothers and sisters in Christ, and I just humbly ask that you'll take father those things which are right and true and and Profitable to those here today and burn them deep into their heart and mind and if anything
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I've spoken is superfluous or an Incorrect father just granted to fall into the sea of forgetfulness
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We just humbly ask that you'll take your word and bury it deep into our hearts that it may grow and produce fruit
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And that fruit may be well pleasing to you and and profitable for all our brothers and sisters in Christ And we ask these things for your mercy sake in Jesus name.