| by Arlan Weight (Bismarck, North Dakota) |
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| Recently, I heard a sermon given, the title of which was, “What’s wrong with the Church?” The sermon was directed at the `Churches of God’. In this sermon the speaker went on to describe the church of today as being like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. But woe unto us if that be true! Notice what Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 5:20. 20. “For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” That statement must have shocked the disciples at that time. The Pharisees were viewed as the leaders of Jesus’ day. Maybe they were not always highly loved or esteemed but they most certainly were regarded as leaders. Notice what is said about them in ‘Eerdmans’s Bible Dictionary’. “PHARISEES – One of the parties or movements within Judaism of the late Second Temple period (ca. 150 B.C. – A.D. 70). The Pharisees were noted most for their exact observance of the Jewish religion, their accurate exposition of the law, their handing down of extra biblical customs and traditions, their moderate position with regard to the interplay of fate and free will, and their belief in the coming resurrection and in angels (Josephus BJi.5.2 [110]; ii. 8.14 [162-63] Ant. Xiii.10.6 [297]; xviii.1.3 [13-14]; Mark 7:3; Acts 23:6-9; Phil. 3:5; cf. Gal. 1:14). The ancient sources variously describe the Pharisees as a political party, a philosophical school and scholarly class, or a sect or voluntary association devoted to ritual purity.” (Emphasis mine) Consider the description of these people; “their exact observance, their exact exposition of the law, their handing down of extra biblical customs and traditions, their ritual purity. . .” These folks were very scrupulous to detail. Paul even prided himself in being a member of this group. Take a look at what he said in Acts 26:4-5. 4. “My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among my own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; 5. which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.” Young’s Concordance describes the word ‘straitest’ as “most accurate, scrupulous and strict”. Take a look at another place where Paul seems to pride himself as having knowledge concerning the scriptures. 5. “Circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law a Pharisee . . .” (Philippians 3:5) So again, when Jesus said their righteousness must exceed the `Pharisees righteousness’, they really must have been dumbfounded. Just as Paul prided himself and as commentators like Eerdmans and others indicate, the Pharisees were meticulous to detail in observing God’s law. So, was this meticulousness wrong? No! Notice what Jesus said in Matthew 23:2-3. 2. “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do;” So, what then was missing? Notice what Jesus also said in Matthew 23:23 23. “Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith; these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” Clearly Jesus is saying here that the Pharisees’ problem was not their attention to detail in keeping God’s law and statutes. This was important as well, but it was the spiritual intent they failed to emphasize …“iudgment, mercy and faith.” When it came to the law and when they read from it Jesus supported them. Again, reflect back on Matthew 23:2-3. So now back to the sermon where the minister claimed the present-day church of God was like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. Could it really be so? How can we tell? Jesus gives us the key in Matthew 7:15-20 15. “Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.16. You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? 17. Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. 18. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19. Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. 20. Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.” It’s quite plain here to see that a tree is likened to a person. So, we can see that Jesus is talking about people. Everywhere we see the word tree we may substitute the word `person’. For example, we could say, “a corrupt person brings forth evil fruit and a good person brings forth good fruit.” But what is this fruit talked about here? Once more in John 15:16 Jesus told his disciples, “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain:” We are physical and our minds operate most often on a physical plane. When we hear the word fruit, we immediately think of something juicy and sweet, something we relate to our taste buds. But Jesus is talking about something on a spiritual plane. He is referring to character traits… Godly character traits. These Godly character traits are listed in Galatians 5:22-23. There are nine of them and they are the fruits Jesus wants us to produce. Yet these fruits cannot grow of and by physical nature only. These can only be produced by the interaction of God’s spirit within us. However, we can receive these spiritual attributes if we begin to turn to the one who can give them. As we turn and as we begin to obey him, he gives us more. (Acts 5:32) And He is more willing, than we know, to give us these attributes. Notice Luke 11:11-13 11. “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12. Or if he shall ask an egg, Will he offer him a scorpion? 13. If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” So, from these words we can see the greatest being in the universe is willing to give us these good things. But do we see the need. Do we really comprehend to see a need for change? Do we really see a need for those fruits growing in our lives? This, I believe is where the Pharisees were blind. They did not see themselves as others did and especially how Jesus did. Fruits of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) 1. Love – This word has got to be one of the most maligned words. Love has taken on an appearance of something we can get, something we can cherish and satiate our physical longings and desires. True love, however, is not an incoming thing. Rather it’s an outgoing expression of service to others. It’s wanting to see the success and wellbeing of another person as strongly as that of ourselves. The whole chapter of 1 Corinthians 13 is devoted to showing the qualities of this most wonderful fruit. Love suffers-long Love is kind Love doesn’t envy Love doesn’t boast Love doesn’t act improperly, dishonorably, indecently, or rudely Love doesn’t seek its own Love doesn’t get offended easily Love thinks no evil Love rejoices not in iniquity Love is truthful and rejoices in truth Love bears all things Love believes all things Love hopes all things Love endures all things 2. Joy – This attribute is something that there seems to be very little of in the world today. Joy is something different than happiness. Happiness seems to be some emotional response to something that happens to us. Maybe it’s the anticipation of a new family member, or maybe it’s a raise at work, or winning the lottery. Joy is different. Joy is something that radiates from within us. It’s something we can have when life is difficult as well as when everything is going well. It’s an attribute that looks beyond the present to a brighter day, such as looking forward to living in a peaceful abundant world, a world with no more wars, no more sicknesses etc. Jesus had this attribute and wants to give it to his followers. Notice John 15:11,John 16:21-22, 24 and John 17:13. Jesus had this kind of joy even when life looked the bleakest for him. (Hebrews 12:2) 3. Peace – Peace is like joy. It’s something we can have within us even when there is no peace around us. It’s a calmness, a settled-ness, knowing that all things are going to turn out for good for us, if we have our eyes fixed on that goal of God’s kingdom and the wonderful world tomorrow. Again, Jesus had this attribute and wants to give it to his followers. See John 14:27 and John 16:33 4. Longsuffering – This attribute was mentioned before as being a specific quality of love. It is one of the most admirable qualities a person can be identified with. Longsuffering comes from the Greek word ‘makrothymia’ Meaning patience, forbearance, internal and external control in difficult circumstances, which could exhibit itself by delaying an action. (Notice God’s longsuffering with mankind in the days of Noah 1 Peter 3:20) Webster’s dictionary gives the description this way. “Bearing injuries, insults, trouble, etc. patiently for a long time – n. long and patient endurance of trials. 5. Gentleness – Gentleness is something we all want to be treated with. It’s a quality of being aware that many folks are easily offended, maybe our selves included. Knowing this, are we gentle when it comes to choosing our words to correct someone who seems to have a problem to overcome? Webster’s dictionary says gentleness is not violent or harsh. 6. Goodness – Webster’s dictionary explains goodness this way. (1) Goodness is the state of being good; specifically (a) virtue; excellence (b) kindness; generosity (2) The best part 7. Faith – Faith is believing something and acting upon that belief before the result of that belief has been realized or materialized. Notice what Hebrews 11:6 says about faith. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) All of the renown people of God listed in Hebrews 11 exhibited that kind of faith where they had hope in God’s promises. They all died in that faith and could rest assured that they will one day receive those promises. 8. Meekness – Meekness comes from the Greek word ‘praotes’. Its meaning is ‘gentleness, humility, courtesy, considerateness’. Meekness is not weakness. Moses was considered by God to be the meekest man on earth at that time. (Num. 12:3) The Hebrew counterpart is `anayw’, and means, `humble, afflicted, poor, oppressed, lowly.’ In Matthew 5:5 Jesus said, “blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” The word for meek here is `praus’. Strong’s Concordance gives it’s meaning as, “gentle, meek, the positive moral quality of dealing with people in a kind manner, with humility and consideration.” In Matthew 11:29-30 Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 9. Temperance – The Greek word for temperance here is `enkrateia’ and simply means “self-control”. Webster’s Dictionary gives the meaning as (1) being temperate or moderate; self-restraint (2) moderation in drinking alcoholic liquor, or esp., the avoiding of alcoholic liquor completely. The word `temperate’ means (1) moderate in indulging the appetites. (2) moderate in one’s actions, speech, etc. (3) characterized by restraint (a temperate reply) So, there you have it. Here are the real values as opposed to the false. Here is what the Pharisees lacked. These are character traits that cannot be faked. To fake it is obvious to someone who is for real. Jesus was for real. Jesus had God’s spirit without measure (John 3:34-35) and he could spot imitation a mile away. It was obvious to him that the Pharisees were hypocritical. So back to the original assessment of this minister who claimed that the church today is very much like the Pharisees of Jesus day. Depending on how much we ourselves are led by God’s Spirit may determine how well we can discern who is and who isn’t one of God’s true disciples. Offended by a Brother But should this be our focus? Shouldn’t our focus be to examine ourselves first? Check our own character first. Let’s take a look at an example Jesus gave to reflect God’s Spirit in action. Notice Luke 17:3-10. Jesus said, 3. “Take heed to yourselves:” (first examine your own condition) “If your brother trespass against you, rebuke him; and if he repents you shall forgive him. 4. And if he trespasses against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to you saying, I repent; you shall forgive him. 5. And the apostles said unto the Lord, `Increase our faith”‘. The apostles must have been a little bit stunned when Jesus told them they should forgive a brother every time he admits his failing and says he’s sorry for offending you, even if it happens seven times in a single day! Does this really happen? Has it ever happened to you where someone has wronged you in his dealing with you seven times in a single day? This seems to be a bit unlikely and yet Jesus is saying, if it happens to this extreme, you must forgive him/her. The statement, “Increase our faith”, that the apostles answered Jesus, seems at first glance to be a bit disconnected with the forgiveness issue, but it is not, as we shall see it is very much connected. Jesus answered it this way: 6. “And the Lord said, If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you might say unto this Sycamine tree, `be you plucked up by the root, and be you planted in the sea; and it should obey you.”‘ As stated above, the disciples were astonished that Jesus would tell them they should forgive a brother every time he says he’s sorry, every time he says it, no matter how many times it happens! This must have flabbergasted the disciples as Jesus didn’t even say anything about the brother stopping the offense. He simply stated that you must forgive him, every time. So as the disciples are standing there with their mouths open in amazement, Jesus goes on to explain. 7. “But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, `Go and sit down to meat (dinner)’. 8. And will not rather say unto him, `make ready where, with I may sup (eat and drink), and gird yourself (wash up and dress yourself) and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward you shall eat and drink? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded of him? I trow (think) not. So likewise, you, when you have done all those things, which are commanded you, say we are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” Jesus explains to his disciples that if you forgive your brother every time, he says he’s sorry, you still haven’t done anything commendable. This is simply doing what is expected of you. To be a profitable servant you must do more. In addition to forgiving our brother gladly, without any malice or hard feelings, we must put the offense in God’s hands. For a person to offend over and over, without any change going on in his/her character, requires something additional. This takes faith. Faith to realize the brother may not be aware of the offense he is committing at the time and to just let it go. Faith to leave it in God’s hands. True brothers and sisters in the faith are not offended easily, nor do they offend someone carelessly. True brothers with a great deal of the fruit of God’s spirit dwelling in them would rarely experience offenses. (1 Corinthians 13:5) But, if it happens, we must remember we are not there yet. All of us are yet physical and are yet growing. Some of us have grown more, some have grown less in these fruits. Whichever is the case we must handle these situations very carefully and not cause a brother to stumble. When members of the same family, whether it be biological or spiritual, offend one another it can be very difficult to resolve. Notice Proverbs 18:19. 19. “A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.” Notice the difficulty to reconcile. It’s like trying to gain access through “bars of a castle”, very hard. Why is this? And why do brothers get offended anyway? Take a look at the verse again. It says their contentions are like the bars of a castle. So, what are these contentions? Proverbs 13:10 gives the answer. 10. “Only by pride comes contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.” “Pride” is the problem. The person causing the offense may have pride, but it would appear that the person being offended has a pride issue. So, whether it’s the offender or the one who is offended, pride is the reason. If one or both persons had enough of God’s spirit of “meekness” or godly “love” in them these offenses would not happen. But we know that they happen so when it does, we need to go again to the source of these fruits and ask for more (Luke 11:11-13). Also notice the last part of Proverbs 13:10. It says we would be well advised to use wisdom in dealing with this issue of pride. Notice James 1:5 5. “If any lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally, and upbraids not; and it shall be given to him.” So, when offenses between brothers and sisters occur it can be a difficult situation. If we are going to deal with them sensibly it takes wisdom, godly wisdom to handle it. Who in scripture is known to have more wisdom than any man? We know the answer that it was Solomon. He wrote these bits of wisdom down and we can access these things for our guidance. Take a look at Proverbs 17:14 14. “The beginning of strife is as when one lets out water: therefore, leave off contention, before it be meddled with.” (Prov. 20:3) When offenses occur usually an argument can erupt and when it does anger can build. If the argument is allowed to go on it can develop into a shouting match, or worse. If we sense the issue will not be resolved, we need to stop it immediately. Pressing the point or wanting to get the last word only makes matters worse. Notice Proverbs 30:33 33. “Surely the churning of milk brings forth butter, and wringing of the nose brings forth blood: so, the forcing of wrath brings forth strife. Consider Solomon’s words. He indicates unless you stop forcing your anger or stirring up the anger of the other person, strife is the natural result. Now damage can be happening. Now, the relationship is not what it once was. The hurt can be deep and unless someone says, “I’m sorry”, it can develop into hate. Then like the proverb says reconciliation is like penetrating the “bars of a castle. Back to Luke 17:3-4 it says that if a brother repents of wrongdoing and says to you, “I apologize, I’m sorry I offended you”, you are to forgive. But what happens if the brother doing the offending, knowingly or unknowingly, doesn’t say these words. What should you do if you are the one offended? Here you have a fork in the road, a decision to make. You’ve already, told him why you are upset, but he doesn’t seem to change or apologize, so what should you do? You can either hang on to the offense, let it work over your mind and begin to assume all sorts of things of why the person did what he did, or as stated above forgive the offender anyway. Forgiving the person even when he doesn’t say, “I’m sorry” is the way God would have us do it. This is being a profitable servant. David’s Example David is said to be “a man after God’s own heart”. Notice how he conducted himself. When Saul set out to hunt him down and execute his wrath on him, David didn’t stand and fight. Instead, he fled the scene. Maybe David recognized he was outnumbered but knowing how he confronted Goliath it’s unlikely this was the case. David knew Saul was God’s anointed to be the king and he was not going to go against that decree. But this wasn’t all of it. At least two times he had the opportunity to kill Saul and end the matter once and for all, but he restrained himself and didn’t. He sought peace instead. Even though David did nothing wrong and had no reason to seek Saul’s favor, but he did it anyway. This took faith and courage, and it showed his willingness to go above what was expected. At this point David is what you would call a Profitable Servant! Jesus’ Example When Jesus was dying on the cross, being cruelly tortured and despicably mistreated, he said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”. This has got to be the most extreme example we must follow. The religious leaders were so incensed about their own position and hated Jesus so much they put him to death. They thought they were doing God’s will. They were not about to ask Jesus for forgiveness, but Jesus forgave them anyway, knowing some other force was guiding their emotions and minds. So, if Jesus forgave people even when they didn’t apologize or ask for forgiveness, even in the most extreme circumstances, how about us, shouldn’t we follow that example? On a daily basis, can’t we realize sometimes people say things or do things to us that are offensive? Can’t we then realize also to put these things into the category of “they know not what they do”, or do we always have to point out their faults and demand an apology? Notice another characteristic of Jesus in 1 Peter 2:22-23. 21. “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 22. who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judges righteously;” Jesus’ habit was to put it in the Father’s hands. This is exercising the spirit of faith. This is going above what is required. This is being a profitable servant. Profitable Servant – A Way of Life To be truly successful we need to learn and practice a certain principle to guarantee it. Herbert Armstrong, leader of the Worldwide Church of God (deceased since 1986) often spoke of two broad ways of life in which all people to some degree or another are traveling. Simply stated they are the way of “give” versus the way of “get”. People and businesses practicing the way of “get” extract as much money, or services as they can. They are always seeking ways to maximize their own profit margins, even if it happens to be to the detriment of the customer. They may look around at other businesses and see what they charge and see what the market can bear and decide to charge the limit. Or they may find ways of advertising to somehow attract a larger segment of population, possibly through deceptive means. For example, the methods used may be perfectly within the law, but ethically are not. An example of this is advertising gas selling for 2 dollars and 89 cents per gallon. At first glance this looks like $2.89, but in actual fact it’s $2.90. People driving by the pump are not always quick to do the math and only read the first two digits. Reading the way their eyes see it they think they are getting it for a penny less than they actually are. Under this premise the gas company can figure additional customers, and therefore, additional profits. The opposite way of life is the way of “give”. This way is always thinking of how to better serve the customer equal to that of his own needs. Using the same example stated above, the gas company would not try to deceive the public but would simply post the price per gallon as $2.90. The above example of the “get” or “give” ways of life may be simplistic but there are hundreds of others wherein the focus of today’s society is on the “get” principle and not on the way of “give”. The principle of “give” requires faith whereas getting requires none. Faith is a spiritual principle; therefore one may conclude, choosing the way of giving, of helping, of service to others first, is not only the way of the profitable servant, it’s the way of God’s spirit. Therefore, to choose the way of giving over getting is no different than the choice our first parents had. They had the opportunity to choose the way, which appealed to their physical senses, or they could choose the way revealed to them, which was to trust God’s instruction. The main difference between our first parents, Adam, and Eve, is they had no previous examples to look to, to see which way worked best. We do. We have 6000 years of practicing that way that seems right, the same as Adam and Eve. This is the record left by man and all its failings and frustrations, which have resulted in an overall state of unhappiness, and failures. But we can do differently. We can see those failures and the way that produced them. We can see they followed the way of getting and self-serving instead of the way of giving and outgoing concern for his neighbor. The World Tomorrow As stated above Jesus had to live that perfect life to set a perfect example for us to follow. The reason should be obvious, but it isn’t. The world in general does not know why and it does not understand it. Jesus said he was going to build his church. (Matthew 16:18) This is not a church building or a local group. It is a group of people specially called and trained for a special purpose. It says in Matthew 22:14 that many are called but few are chosen. Why? Is God unfair? Why not choose them all? The answer to that question is that some, who are called, are not interested. The parable of the sower gives the meaning to this. But what about those who are chosen? Those in that special group are those who heard the call, gladly received the message, and answered it, are those who go on to begin growing and developing those fruits of God’s Spirit. The fruits that are being developed are developed because they are attached to the vine. (John 15:1-5) The vine is Christ who is able to give nourishment and power to grow and be productive. Unless we are attached to that vine, we cannot do anything and we can’t develop any good fruit. The fruits we are to grow are those nine mentioned above. (Galatians 5:22-23) But why grow these fruits? Why love? Why long suffering? Why gentleness? Why kindness? Why temperance? The answer to these questions is astounding and at the same time, a total mystery to the world in general? Why? Because it has not heard or has not understood the true gospel message. The message Jesus was sent to deliver to this planet was that God was offering life to humankind, life unending in his kingdom. It was the most wonderful message mankind could have heard and yet it was rejected. None-the-less God is going to achieve that which he purposes, whether or not humanity at this time receives it. But it is a plan most humans do not remotely comprehend. Suffice it to say here, though, is that those who have accepted that call and are producing those fruits in their lives are preparing to rule in that kingdom. When Christ returns, those who have died that have grown in faith and the other fruits of God’s spirit, as well as those living, will be resurrected or changed and gathered together to meet him. Then all the training will be of use in transforming this world. It won’t happen suddenly, but it will happen. Why will it succeed, because it will be God’s government, not mans. How will it succeed? Because it will be, achieved with those profitable servants who went above and beyond that which was expected. They are the ones who grew in the fruits of God’s spirit. Notice how it will be achieved. The World Tomorrow with the abundance of peace and prosperity spoken of by Isaiah and all the prophets of old will be achieved when the leadership under Christ exercises all the fruits of God’s Spirit in governing. These leaders had to be prepared. They could not properly lead and govern unless they first have all the godly qualities of God’s Spirit developed within them. If this fruit is developed and remains within them (John 15:16) when they die, or are instantly changed, they will be the leaders in this awesome world that will be, The Wonderful World Tomorrow. Notice Revelation 22:12. 12. “behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” Notice the words “according as his work shall be.” The work you or I will be given will be in measure to the amount of good fruit you or I have produced. This is how it will happen: 6. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6) |
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