For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. (Titus 3:3-8).
March 23, 2017
Dear MLEPC Members and Friends,
First, I want to take a moment to thank Dr. Bruce Bickel for preaching from our pulpit over the month of March. He is a pastor, a teacher, and a scholar, through whom we are blessed. But most of all, he is an encourager. To be encouraged through the Word of God is precisely what we as a congregation need right now. And setting Jesus Christ at the forefront of worship is also what we need. To be reminded of our primary calling, which is to seek God in worship and surrender our lives to Him (John 4:24). I also want to thank Pastor Linda for the attention and care she brings to our congregation and the friends of our congregation during their times of need. That too is a form of both kindness and encouragement. Last, I want to thank our church's leaders and you, the members of MLEPC. As we encourage one another and exhort one another in Christ, we fulfill God's commands.
The passage above, which Dr. Bickel will preach on, begins with the markers of the old, unredeemed life. The fruit of the flesh that comes about when the Spirit is absent. Disobedience, deception, lust, envy, and, of course, hatred of one another-the exact opposite of Jesus' command to love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34). But it is the kindness and mercy of God that, through the justification granted by His grace in and through Jesus Christ, makes us heirs to a hope that goes beyond what we can imagine. It is the hope of glory. The hope of eternal life.
In my view, this amazing passage of Scripture begs us to ask a question. The question is simple. If God in Jesus has given us the beautiful trifecta of kindness, love, and mercy, do we ever have a justification to hate anyone, let along one is a member of the Body of Christ? From this perspective, we are called to hate only one thing: sin. This passage beckons us to examine our own hearts and think to ourselves: is there someone whom I have hated, either in thought, word, or deed? Further, is there someone whom I have treated with anything less than kindness? If so, we are called to turn that around and ask for forgiveness. If someone has treated us with hatred, we are called to respond not with the same hatred, but with kindness and mercy, just as Jesus Christ has done for us (Romans 12:20).
Over the past month, there is a rather common theme that has been coming up during the sermons. That is the theme of character. We want to be a church whose character reflects the character of Jesus. We want to increase in a faithful character that reflects integrity. None of us have arrived at that point, but all of us have that as our goal. May it be so, we pray!
