Christ Church

Doug Wilson

Brothers and Business Deals (Workbench of Practical Christianity)

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

By the grace of God, we live in an industrious community of Christians, and it has to be said that this has had a very predictable result. We are also a community that contains more than its share of well-to-do believers. This presents dangers, and temptations, and opportunities.  

As I am fond of saying, “You can’t keep money from doing what money always does.” What was once said of the Puritans who came to New England? It was said that they came to do good, and ended up doing well. Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked (Dt. 32:15). Cotton Mather once said that faithfulness begat prosperity and the daughter devoured the mother. Beware, when you have eaten and are full, and have built goodly houses, and your gold is multiplied, that your “heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God” (Dt. 8:10-14).

THE TEXT

“And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred” (Mark 4:13–20). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

This passage is the Lord’s application of His parable of the sower. He begins by saying that an understanding of this parable is the master key to an understanding of all His parables (v. 13). The seed that the sower casts is the Word of life (v. 14). Some of the seed falls on the path or sidewalk, and so Satan has no trouble whisking it away immediately (v. 15). Their hearts were the sidewalk. Then there was the stony ground. Because of the rocks the soil was shallow, but there was shallow soil there. They sprouted immediately, gladly, but only because the soil was so shallow (v. 16). But because they can have no deep root, they fall away promptly in any difficulty (v. 17). And then comes the warning that I want to emphasize this morning. Some seed is sown among the thorns (v. 18), and those thorns are defined as cares, lies, and lusts (v. 19). These choke the Word, rendering it unfruitful. Then there is the good soil, returning a harvest of thirty, sixty, and a hundred-fold (v. 20).    

HOW ANXIETY PRESENTS ITSELF

The Lord is teaching us about the sowing of the gospel and the life-and-death responses that are exhibited by different kinds of soil. He is talking about salvation or the lack of it, and as we meditate on the parable, we do recognize this. But I am preaching to Christians, which means this is a message to the good soil. That good soil produces differing amounts of grain—thirty, sixty, and a hundred-fold. We make a serious mistake if we glibly assume that the things that interfere with the salvation of unbelievers can have no effect on our sanctification. We too can deal with hardened soil, stones in the soil, and with thorns. As we reflect on this, make all the necessary adjustments.

With that said, we are going to consider how “the cares of this world” present themselves to us, as responsible Christian adults. And that is it. They present themselves as “taking responsibility.” Anxiety and worry can clean up real nice, and knock on the door of your heart, wanting to know if you have adequate insurance coverage. He is a representative agent for Carking Cares Mutual.   

DOING BUSINESS WITH BROTHERS

Because God is blessing us in this place, under these circumstances, in this community, I must exhort you to remember certain things. As your pastor, I have seen many business deals between brothers go south. And the more our community is blessed, the more it will create opportunities for this kind of thing to happen. So here are some principles that financial opportunities and pressures (e.g. “cares” straight out of the parable) will make you want to forget.

  • Write it down: Regeneration does not make anyone’s memory perfect, least of all yours. “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3). 
  • Abide by what you wrote down: It is amazing what financial pressure can do to one’s hermeneutical abilities. A righteous man swears to his own hurt, and does not change (Ps. 15:4). As Upton Sinclair once put it, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
  • Don’t play to the gallery: Our community is big enough now that it will always contain a number of tenderhearted Christians, ready to take up the side of whoever the “poor buddy” is. This is in violation of the Scriptures, but it still happens. “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour” (Leviticus 19:15). 
  • Distinguish best practices from pagan best practices: Certain business practices really are best practices in a common grace sort of way. But other things are just imported from the world, with the smell of worldliness all over them. It is never lawful to sue a brother before unbelievers (1 Cor. 6:1-8), for example.
  • Don’t change your story: “‘It is good for nothing,’ cries the buyer; But when he has gone his way, then he boasts” (Proverbs 20:14).
  • Don’t abuse the ichthus fish symbol: The Golden Rule is “do unto others” (Matt. 7:12), and is not “hope that others would do unto you.” When you see that little fish sign in the window, does it make you want to hope that he gives a little discount to you because you are a brother? Or does it make you want to add 10% to the invoice because he is a brother?     

CHRIST IN THE MARKETPLACE

If Christ is in you, and if you are in Christ, then one of the best places where this can be displayed is in the marketplace. This is the place where hard work, honestly and competently done, cheerfully approached and without complaining, for the price quoted, and no funny business, provides a stark contrast to the world, and also sadly, to much of the Christian world. In such a circumstance, Christ shines brightly. 

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Honoring God in Personal Finances 
(Workbench of Practical Christianity)

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

Martin Luther once said that a man needs to be converted twice. The first conversion is that of his heart, and the second one is of his wallet. What we are going to be addressing here is the nature of that wallet conversion. How should we go about honoring God in our personal financial dealings?

THE TEXT

“And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold” (Genesis 13:1–2). 

“And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living” (Mark 12:42–44). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Abraham was the friend of God (Jas. 2:23), and he is the father of all the faithful down through history (Gal. 3:29). He serves as our exemplar in faith (Heb. 11:8), and, as we see in our text, he was very, very rich (Gen. 13:1-2). Despite all of his wealth, he knew how to look for a deeper inheritance (Heb. 11:10), and he sets an example for us in this as well.

But we also have examples from the other end of the spectrum as well. The apostle Paul points out that the saints in Macedonia combined great affliction, deep poverty, and profound joy in order to achieve staggering generosity (2 Cor. 8:2). And in our text, the Lord Jesus sets before us the example of a nameless widow who, measured by the percentages, gave more than all the wealthy tithers. 

And so we see that money matters, and it matters a lot. But it is not a lot of money that matters, unless that is what you have on your mind. What matters is that God has a lot of your heart, as indicated by money. You are the one with the temperature. Money is just the thermometer. 

A NEW COVENANT TITHE

A common assumption that many Christians make is that the tithe was an Old Testament ceremonial thing, somehow fulfilled in Christ, and so our job is to give as “the Spirit moves,” meaning somewhere in the neighborhood of two percent. 

But there is a passage in the New Testament that opens up all the wonderful promises of the Old Testament for us. And here it is:

“Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:13–14). 

The passage in context is talking about how the ministry of the Christian church is to be funded. Paul brings up how the Old Testament Levites and priests were supported, which was by the tithe. He then says “even so, in the same way, likewise” the Lord has ordained the funding of New Testament ministry. The ministry in the Old Testament was funded by the tithe, and this is how the New Testament ministry should be funded—exactly the same way.

But this is not God running low on funds, and needing to put the squeeze on His people. 

“If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof” (Psalm 50:12).

No. Rather, this is an invitation from God to learn how He has determined to bless His people.  

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10). 

THE MEANING OF TRIBUTE

Just as sabbath observance is a recognition that God is the Lord of time and history, so it is with the tithe. Observing one day out of seven is our recognition that all seven belong to Him. Giving a tithe your increase is a tangible way of acknowledging all your resources belong to Him, and that you are managing the remaining 90% as a responsible steward.

So you bring your tithes as the Lord’s financial training wheels for you, and this teaches you how to be responsible with your offerings (voluntary gifts) and with your management of the remaining resources that you retain. In all of this you should remember the exhortation of John Wesley: “Earn all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can.” 

WHAT THE PRIORITIES SHOULD LOOK LIKE

You honor God’s sovereign authority through the tithe. You demonstrate your love for Him through your offerings. You make sure that you fulfill your basic responsibilities by feeding your family (1 Tim. 5:8). You live out your love for others by lending a hand where needed (1 John 3:17). And all of this blends together in one harmonious picture that Paul describes for us.

“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:17–19). 

MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD

You have been redeemed from the slave market of sin. You have been forgiven for all your idolatries, and this includes the idolatry of wealth. Greed is idolatry (Col. 3:5). Covetousness is idolatry (Eph. 5:5). The pride of life is idolatry (1 John 2:16). This means that whatever precious things you may possess—whether in money, or heirlooms, or rare collectibles—you should first make sure that your faith is more precious to you than all of that. 

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7).

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Hard Work & the Sabbath (Workbench of Practical Christianity)

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

Our elders recently decided that at the beginning of this academic year, we were going to have a three-week series of messages on practical Christian living, with different messages preached at King’s Cross, CCD, and here. These nine messages will then be bundled together for broader circulation. And so it is that we are taking a brief break from our series through Philippians. 

The topic of our message this morning is going to be “hard work and the sabbath.” Because we are living in the time of the new covenant, we will begin with the Lord’s Day—in the old covenant, it was six days of labor followed by a day of rest. In the new covenant, the day of rest is foundational—it is on the first day, and the six days of labor follow after, and are built on the foundation of gospel rest.

THE TEXT

“And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.” (Mark 2:27–28). 

“The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: But the slothful shall be under tribute.” (Proverbs 12:24). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The perennial sabbath snare is that as soon as we learn that the Fourth Commandment remains binding, we gravitate immediate to a list of things we are not permitted to do. This was the case with the old sabbath, and it has been a recurring temptations for sabbatarians under the new covenant. This is why Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, was routinely accused of sabbath breaking. How did He manage that? He knew that the day of rest was a gift to men, and that men were not to be sacrificed on the altar of sabbath strictness. The text from Mark 2 is from a context where the Lord’s disciples had been picking grain on the sabbath. But rest is grace. Rest is a gift.

What kind of work needs to be built on the foundation of gospel rest? This work needs to have two characteristics. It needs to be industrious and diligent (as in our text), and it needs to be skillful and competent (see Prov. 22:29).

A BRIEF SABBATH PRIMER

The fourth commandment is not the only commandment of the Ten that has somehow been retired, or put out to pasture. But the fact that it is among the moral commands of the Decalogue does not mean that it cannot be amended as redemptive history progresses. We see this when at the first giving of the Law, the ground of sabbath observance was the fact that God had created the world in six days and had rested on the seventh (Ex. 20:11). But in Deuteronomy, the text of the fourth commandment is altered, and the ground of observance was now given as the Exodus (Dt. 5:15). 

In the new covenant, the ground of sabbath observance is altered again. The fact is that Christ entered His rest after the work of redemption was complete, in an analogous way to how God rested at the end of the creation week. He did this on the first day of the week, which is why we still have a sabbath, and it is why our sabbath is on the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day.

“There remaineth therefore a rest [a sabbath] to the people of God. For he [Christ] that is entered into his rest [in His resurrection], he also hath ceased from his own works [of redemption], as God did from his [works of creation]” (Hebrews 4:9–10). 

The Lord pointed to this new reality in numerous ways. In the old covenant, God had said numerous times that the seventh-day sabbath would last as long as the old creation did, which it did (Ex 31:16-17). But when God ushered in a new creation, what then? The sabbath was fulfilled and transformed. The Lord rose on the first day of the week (Matt. 28:1; John 20:1). He appeared to the disciples one week later (John 20:26). The Holy Spirit was poured out on Pentecost, fifty days later, also on a Sunday (Acts 2:1). The early Christians began gathering on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2). We have been honoring the Lord’s Day in this way ever since (Rev. 1:10). 

A WEEKLY CYCLE

We need to take note of what this does. Every Lord’ Day when we gather together, we are pouring a foundation. We want our worship to be Christ-glorifying, which is another way of saying that we want the foundation walls to be straight. When the foundation walls are straight, you are in a good position to have the (hard) work you do line up with that foundation. And what will that mean for your work?

WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE

What does work with “straight lines” look like? It should be diligent, industrious. We are not just commanded to rest for one, but also to work for six (Ex. 20:9). It should be competent, skillful, intelligent (Prov. 22:29). Your work should be honest, not conniving or devious (Prov. 20:10). Your work should be imitative. You should not be too conceited to learn from others (Prov. 13:20). Your work should be creative. You must not be afraid to try something new (Eph. 2:10). 

A RITUAL OF REST

Christians ought to be the hardest working people around, but the work we do must not be tormented, or driven, or under the lash. Work is a true privilege, work is a grace. Work was granted to Adam before the Fall (Gen. 2:15), and was not the result of the Fall. Work became more onerous after the Fall (Gen 3:16-19), but that is quite different. The work itself is a grace. Christ came as the second Adam to begin the process of restoring Eden. That is the image we are given with Ezekiel’s Temple, and the New Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven. The work we now do we have been liberated and recreated to do.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8–10).

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Timothy and Epaphroditus 
(Philippians #9)

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

The Christian faith is by no means a solitary business. The grace of regeneration extends to each individual, but because this grace is brought by means of the Spirit of God, one of the first things it does is knit us together with all the other recipients of this same grace. Each Christian is touched by God, but there is only one body. This is manifested in different ways. One of them is the great grace of corporate worship. “I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people” (Psalm 35:18). But another aspect of this is the grace of companionship, a grace that we see several times in this passage. “And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life” (Phil. 4:3, NKJV). 

THE TEXT

“But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel. Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly. Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation: Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.” (Philippians 2:19–30).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul had picked up Timothy as his assistant very early on. Several decades after they joined forces, Paul still needs to caution him about not letting people despise his youth (1 Tim. 4:12), and of the need to flee youthful lusts (2 Tim. 2:22). This means Timothy was likely in his teens when he first came onto Paul’s team. Paul’s intention here is to send Timothy to Philippi as his representative (v. 19), in order to learn how they were. Paul says that he has no one else like Timothy, one who would care naturally for them (v. 20). Others were selfish, not seeking out the interests of Christ (v. 21). But the Philippians knew Timothy’s worth, how he had served Paul as a faithful son in the gospel work (v. 22). Paul was going to send him to get news from Philippi, just as soon as he would be able to bring news from Paul. (v. 23). If things worked out, Paul would also follow (v. 24). In addition to sending Timothy, he was also going to send Epaphroditus back to them (v. 25). He was Paul’s brother, co-laborer, fellow soldier, and servant to Paul—but their messenger (v. 25). Epaphroditus was greatly concerned because he knew that they had heard about his illness (v. 26). He had in fact almost died, but God had mercy on both him and Paul (v. 27). Paul was spared sorrow upon sorrow. Paul was therefore very deliberate about sending him home again, to augment their joy and reduce Paul’s sorrow (v. 28).   Paul urges them to receive him back with gladness, and to honor him highly (v. 29). His illness had been work related, and he had risked his life to fulfill the task they had given him to do (v. 30).

THAT NAME EPAPHRODITUS

We should also take a minute to glean a lesson from the fact that Paul’s “fellow soldier” was named (still named) Epaphroditus. That name means “dedicated to Aphrodite,” or Venus, the goddess of sexual love. It is natural and right that we name things after what we love and honor, and I suspect it was not too long in the history of the church before Christian parents stopped naming their kids Epaphroditus. But it is equally important for us not to be too fastidious in the meantime. “Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?” (Ecclesiastes 7:16). Tychicus had a name related to fate or chance, and Mordecai means dedicated to Marduk. 

So you should not be too concerned about meeting someone for lunch on Thor’s Day. Or that some think that Christmas used to be a pagan holiday. That’s all right. We used to be pagans. 

FELLOW SOLDIERS

When the Lord Jesus sent out the seventy, He sent them out “two by two” (Luke 10:1-2). Even though the laborers were few, He did not spread them out into “ones.” Paul goes to Athens alone, but he wanted Silas and Timothy to join up with him with “all speed” (Acts 17:15). After they arrived, the effectiveness of the ministry was amplified (Acts 18:5, 8-10). And when Paul was in Troas, there was a real open door, but he had no peace in his spirit because he hadn’t heard from Titus (2 Cor. 2:12-13). Companionship in gospel work is an assigned strategy.

“Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus. The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:9–13).

The key to effective ministry. Companions. And books.

SORROW UPON SORROW

Now Paul had just finished saying that if he were to be sacrificed on the altar of the Philippians’ obedience, he would rejoice, and so would they (Phil. 2:17-18). But he says here that if Epaphroditus had died, it would have left him disconsolate (v. 27). Is this a contradiction? It would be if Christian joy were a happy-happy-joy-joy kind of thing, but it isn’t. We are not made out of blocks of wood. It is possible to rejoice in the Lord through tears of grief.

“As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things” (2 Cor. 6:10).

Who do we follow? Who is our Lord? He is the man of sorrows, acquainted with grief (Is. 53:3). He went to the cross for the joy that was set before Him (Heb. 12:2). He is now at the right hand of the Father, where there is an infinite river of pleasure (Ps. 16:11), and fulness of joy. 

   

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