Right Response
Commentary
Just what does God expect of us?
That is a question which has rankled in the heart of the church since time immemorial. It is interesting to take a look at it since 1000 B.C.
It appears, on the whole, religious life before the eighth century had been largely cultic (keeping rites and requirements of the cult). While there was some expectation of justice and obedience from the kings and leaders (Samuel accosted Saul about his disobedience; Nathan accused David of despotism; Elijah confronted Ahab's apostasy and confronted the prophets of Baal), not much expectation seemed to be levied on the general populace.
Things changed with the coming of Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah in the eighth century. See Amos 5:21-24 and Micah 6:6-8 for excellent summaries of a new morality and ethic required of the individual.
It is clear God expects a response to his graciousness and that response has to do with our lives. The problem arises, of course, when things get turned upside down and persons do the right things, live good lives, and then expect God to respond to them with blessings. See Luke 18:10-14 for a good example of this.
Arguments over what is right and wrong, good and bad, expected or not expected are always with us. We are always hopeful that somehow we will succeed in measuring up to expectations or deserving, meriting God's favor.
Jesus settles the matter once and for all in the John selection for today. "If a man loves me." That is the heart of the matter. Jesus know that outer coercion, outer standards and expectations will never cause us to measure up. The fact is we constantly fail. Check Romans 5, 6, and 7 for Paul's views.
What is needed is an inner motive, a power that enables us to do his will and do it for the right reason: out of gratitude for what he has already done for us. That motive is love for him. This is the right response.
Use Psalm 67 for a doxology of praise.
OUTLINE I
Just As We Are!
Acts 15:1-2, 22, 27
Introduction: Begin by reviewing all of chapter 15 which is a good example of the growing conflict of ideas in the early church and the way in which they dealt with that conflict. It is clear the Jews are ready to admit Gentiles into the community of faith and give approval to their being followers of Jesus, provided they come by way of Judaism. Be a good Jew first; then you can follow this Jesus if you wish.
A. There are always those who insist we must take some first steps if we are to be acceptable to God. We hear people saying things like, "If I were good enough I'd go to church," or "Some day when I am ready I'll become a Christian." It is as though after one has cleaned up his or her life and gotten everything in order, they are now acceptable.
B. The truth about us is to be found everywhere in the New Testament. Check out Romans 5:6-8 and you'll find the heart of the matter. Look for other Scriptures that Will aid and abet this theme that God takes the initiative to save -is and, when we respond, he takes us where and as we are and begins to make us anew.
Conclusion: The door is open. The invitation is to all. A good hymn text to read is "Just As I Am."
Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
And that thou bidst me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just as I am, and waiting not
to rid my soul of one dark blot,
To thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just as I am, though tossed about
with many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need, in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just as I am, thy love unknown
hath broken every barrier down;
Now, to be thine, yea, thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
OUTLINE II
Watch Out for Temples
Revelation 21:10, 22-27
Introduction: One cannot fully appreciate the meaning of this text unless some study is done regarding the temple and its role in Judaism. Check out the Psalms which extol the glories of the temple. Remember a major accusation against Jesus was his statement about destroying the temple. Stephen was stoned to death for suggesting the temple was not sacred.
There were those who believed that, as long as the temple stood and God dwelt there, the people were safe. Trust in the temple had become an article of faith.
A. There had been those who did not hold the temple in such sacred regard (Jesus, Stephen, Paul). When the temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 there were those who were certain it was the end of the age. Without the temple the cult of the Sadducees was finished. Gradually the temple cult receded into the background.
B. On the other hand, what the temple symbolized, the presence of God in the midst of his people, was cherished and longed for. The writer of Revelation foresees the day when the presence of God is with his people. This is a vision of a new day, a new world, and a new temple (dwelling place of God) where all nations will come and share the glory of God.
Conclusion: Why not apply this insight to the presence of shrine worship in our day? Churches become holy places. Memories associated with them make them sacred. The day comes when a church should cease to be, be closed, and let the people of God move on. But we love to linger at our holy places, places where we once had an experience.
Check out your situation and apply the insight as needed. The true holy place is where God is. Has he moved on ahead of us? We are called to new experiences, not to linger longingly at the location of the last one. See Matthew 17:1-8.
OUTLINE III
One God --With Us!
John 14:23-29
Introduction: Call to the attention of the hearers the fact that, in this passage from the Gospel of John, Jesus mentions the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. By the time of the writing of this Gospel, it was clear they needed to account for their continuing experience of God's presence while, at the same moment, linking that presence with the faith of their people through the ages.
Father. Never did the Jews give up their understanding that the God whom they met in Jesus was the same God who came to Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, and a host of others. They could easily speak of him as the God of their fathers or the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. One thing the writer of the Gospel of John found necessary was to share that message with his Gentile (Greek) audience.
Son. If there is anything at issue in the Gospel of John it is the identification of Jesus as the Messiah. Read chapter one of John again and listen as John the Baptizer is displeased as a potential detractor and listen to Nathanial's exclamation in 1:49, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God." They had discovered that, in this man, they came to know God as he is.
Holy Spirit. Still they had to account for their sense of his continuing presence among them. That power, guidance, and presence spoken of so clearly in John 14-16 is summed up in the words "Holy Spirit."
Conclusion: We are a trinitarian people because we join the church of all ages in proclaiming God eternal as one who has never ceased to "come to his people to seek to save them." He has made himself known as the God of our fathers (ancestors), in Jesus the Christ and, daily, in the presence of the Holy Spirit (God with us).
