First Thessalonians, 4:9-12 Christian Conduct - Part 2

We're moving from fornication to, yeah, we're leaving that behind and now that we've conquered that topic, right? Welcome to Sunday School. Well, you may think you're in the wrong place this morning, but we completed the studies last week on a very important topic. So let's move on today. If you remember correctly, if we're getting our system to operate here, Probably not. Yes, okay.

Alright, we're in the book of First Thessalonians, Paul's letter, and this is the stage of Christian conduct. First Thessalonians 4 is about Christian conduct. And we divided it into four sections. Last week we dealt with the topic of sexual continence. And that's kind of a funny term, but I think it fits the task of continence as you maintain other forms of continence in your bodies, right? So sexual continence we dealt with in great detail last week.

Tough topic, important topic, and the church at Thessalonica was not the only one that Paul addressed this issue in. It's a relevant topic. So today, brotherly love and mind your own business, or minding our own business. And finally, no sorrow for the dead or living, the future for believers is bright.

Really a unique section of scripture that Randy will do in two weeks and Roger will enter us into that path next week. All right, Darby translations, I think except for one of the verses today. 1st Thessalonians 4, 9-12, and I think just to put this in context, let's read the whole 1st Thessalonians 4. Roy, you up for that?

1-12, 1st Thessalonians 4. for you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus but this is the will of God your sanctification that it is that you abstain from sexual immorality and each of you shall have to possess his own vessel of sanctification and honor not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God and that no man transgressed and betrothed his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things just as we also told you before in Psalm 119.

For God has not called us for the purpose of obscurity, but to sanctify us. So he who rejects this is not rejected man, but the God who gives his Holy Spirit to Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, to do yourselves a fact by God, to love one another. For indeed, you do practice it toward all the brethren who live in that building. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business. and to work with your hands just as we commanded you so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.

Okay, thank you, Roy. All right, first verse. Now concerning brotherly love, you have no need that we should write to you for you yourselves are taught of God to love one another. A question came up to me. Why do you think that Paul and presumably Timothy said that they had no need to write to them about brotherly love. Why would there be no need to write to them about brotherly love?

They had it all tucked in. They were doing really well at this, huh? Morning, Beth. Anybody like to try to answer that one? Stump the stars here. If they're walking with the Lord, if they're abiding in Him, then that's, since love is from God, you know, the first John, verse 7, the love is from God, and whoever loves is the Lord God. So the natural outflow of a believer's life should be love from God. So I think that's, it's part of the answer. There should be a natural consequence of walking with Christ, walking in Him. Whether the love should be part of it, you know. if you work at it then it's not going to be, it's going to be your law and not Christ's law.

Do you think a new believer knows this? Probably not. These guys were practicing it according to the context here. Okay, Roy says they are practicing it already, alright, but does it come automatically? Nancy, what do you think? Well, verse 3, chapter 1 says, Paul is saying, we give thanks to God always for all of you making mention of your prayers, constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love, and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

So they've already been reported on as being love. All right, but what about the Church at Corinth? Was there that same atmosphere there, do you think? Or is this unique to Thessalonica? Or is there something more profound here, more deep in terms of what God has in mind. How do you teach somebody to love one another?

I think it's neat to see a new believer come to the truth of what the life is all about. They have to live it to know it. But again, the first part and the third part of our three-component salvation, I was saved, I'm being saved, and I will be saved. The first and the third are easy. The second is not difficult, it's just a whole different trough that we drink out of.

Once you come to salvation, everybody has their doubts a little bit about eternal life at times. Sometimes you doubt because the old man shows up. You kind of doubt whether you've really been saved. I think we've all been there at times, haven't you? But boy, the second thing, living the Christian life is the deal here.

So what about 1 John 2.27? I just picked this as maybe exemplary of this.

But the anointing which you have received from him, what's the anointing? Is that speaking in tongues? Now, it's the baptism of the Holy Spirit, right? When we come to salvation, the Holy Spirit enters each and every one of us. Let's see how this fits. But the anointing which you've received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you, but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things and is true, and is not a lie. Just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. Does that fit?

The concept of coming to salvation, you're baptized with the Holy Spirit, which opens up this brotherly love thing. You may not understand it. You may not be, quote, doing very well at it, because this is a life of faith, isn't it? We're going to get into brotherly love a little bit more in detail this morning and exactly what it means. But it's not warm fuzzies for people who do nice things to you. This is a lot more than simply feeling good about everybody. Wasn't it the same back there when this was written as we're doing this morning? The new believer has all of these things. He's been anointed as we've pointed out, but he doesn't really, he has to learn those things. That's right.

And is this an intellectual learning art? Is this something you study to learn? Do you study how to love? No. Well, Yes and no a little bit, right? What is the studious component of learning how to love? There is a bit of studying, isn't there? What are we studying or who are we studying? Okay, so you'd like horizontal vision, watching what Roy's doing to make sure you know how to love?

No offense, Roy. Okay, I like that. Peggy? Yeah, it is. It really is. And keep in mind, as believers, we're positioned at the right hand, so we're looking down. I mean, Hal so beautifully taught that repeatedly. It's our view from above, and Miles represents that his way. I mean, looking down, we're fully occupied with the Lord Jesus Christ. The life, when we look horizontally, as believers, we look horizontally, look at other lives, we can only be disappointed. Oh, we're lifted up at times, because we see the Lord Jesus Christ living through one another.

But boy, it's easy to slip up, isn't it, on this earthly walk that we're in and doing. So, this idea, I think in first child, we get the concept a little bit. When you're born again, you're born into a brotherly love kind of relationship and that's a positional truth. How that's acted out conditionally is a time-dependent process. And again, don't put a metric to it. How am I doing? I think we're going to get into that in more detail, but I think that's a mistake. All right.

If you had to give one or two verses to describe this agapeo love, Which would you choose? And I've picked two, but what verses would you pick if you just think of God's love as agapeo love? Yes, Brad? Romans 5.8. Good. That's one I picked, okay? What would be another one that people quote left and right?

John 3.16. Alright, let's take a look at both of those verses and ponder.

Let's go to John 3.16 first. We've heard it so many times, but when you go back and profoundly realize that ultimately we've all been anointed in this full capability.

Who's God? Okay, so what's God's love all about? I'm sorry? You're mumbling. So, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. His love was demonstrated by his giving to his son. He took action based on it. He didn't say, I love you. That's nice, God loves you. He demonstrated that love. He put that love into action. And through that love, ultimately we're related to him, right? All he's asking us to do is to believe this.

And Romans 5.8, I want you to read that, that ties right into this, because if you're founded in Romans 3.16, then 5.8 makes a lot of sense.

Romans 5.8. There it is. But God demonstrates his own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Alright, so John 3.16 just bounces right down the path to Romans 5.8, doesn't it? So God's love demonstrated by the sacrifice of his son and his resurrection ultimately is the same love that we're to have for one another. And how would you describe that love?

Sacrificial. Unconditional. Everlasting. That's good. Nothing in return promised here, right? So the next question I have for y'all is what's this love look like? I brought up another verse John 13 34 new commandment I give unto you that you love one another as I've loved you that ye also should love one one another. It's interesting to note that in both the first Thessalonians verse that we're currently studying and in the verse in John, the word love is present active. Who's doing the loving here? I thought this exchange life is kind of that somebody else is doing the loving, right? Well, but we're still involved here, aren't we? So how are we involved? in this process of loving one another with the same kind of love God loved us. We have his nature now, we're new, and so it's his life that we're a part of. Right. But we have to believe it. We have to actively believe that what he has said in these verses is true. And we have to believe our position.

Is this a choice? I don't think it's a choice. We've had this come up in this body before, right? I'm going to play this out because I think this is so important. Is this a choice to love one another as Christ loved us? We don't have that capability. Good. So what is it if it's not a choice? It's a life. It's a life lived out in the believer by our act of faith. Loving one another is not a choice.

And that's why 1 John 2.27 says you've already been anointed in this truth. Now the question is, how do you perform this? And you perform it actively by faith. And that faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ's ability to live out a live and fruitful life in each one of us. Important, important, important.

And John, 1 John 3.14 really is very, very potentially punitive, isn't it? We know that we pass from death to life because we love the brother. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Now, you know, we're not studying the epistle of 1 John here, but boy, you know, the epistle of 1 John is, to me, black and white all the way through. And you've got to understand the believer is not abiding in death.

We're told we have eternal life, John 3.16. So what does this imply? Why would John say that if you pass from death to life, you love the brethren? But if you don't love your brother, you're abiding in death. Is that it? Yes, go ahead.

I think the whole book of 1 John is you're white or black because you're in fellowship or you're not, and that begins very early in the first chapter in terms of confessing our sins, right? You know, I mean, this is tough, but it's very black and white. And what do we think about? We think, I think, very simply about flesh and the life in Christ. Flesh, Christ. Flesh, Christ. And the flesh doesn't love his brother.

I was running late this morning. I was sitting behind somebody in an entrance. Those people have been to our house. If you go up South Turkey and you get on 285 coming down the hill, the entrance ramp is a free entrance ramp. You turn right. You don't have to worry about the traffic coming down because it's like any entrance ramp through a freeway. So this guy who's the weekend mountain driver, presumably, sitting there and sitting there and sitting there.

And I'm thinking, gee, I'm late for Sunday school, but yet, you know, it's a life, it's a choice. And I actually, for a short period of time, was abiding in death. Did I ever question my salvation? No. Praise God, really. It's good. So I think I've got a few questions for you here. Loving your brother. How are you all doing here? Doing pretty well? I thought you said not to measure that. Alright, thank you. I had no idea I'd provide the answer ahead of time.

What about the brethren who are not so very lovable? Hey, we're talking about brethren here now, we're not talking about the world about us, we're talking about brothers and sisters in the Lord. You know any people like that? Who are brothers and sisters in the Lord, who you don't particularly feel like cuddling up to? I often think some, I mean, don't take any offense, sometimes some of the better relationships you have in terms of just day-to-day things are with non-believers. I don't know whether any of you have experienced that, but it's not that I don't love all of you, you're of course my... But really, they're brethren and non-brethren are not very lovable. And so when you're working at it, that makes it a pretty difficult task, doesn't it?

We're putting ourselves under a law system when we measure our love for one another. Don't go there, because you're going to fail. The only result is failure when we're putting a metric to how we're doing here. Is there something about which we need to be more diligent? Well, the answer is obviously no. Working at loving somebody just doesn't make it.

Because it's so conditional. And it's so expected. You know, just think about our expectations of the result of our loving someone when they're not met. We're disappointed. And remember what Newell says, I brought this up before too, Newell says when you're disappointed with yourself, you've trusted yourself.

That simple. So, no, this isn't something we need to be more diligent about. If not, what's the answer then? It's what Peggy says. We need to focus on the Lord. Okay, but is this automatic? You know, gee, I've been fellowshipping with the Lord. I'm in 2 Corinthians 3.18 kind of experience of looking in the mirror and seeing myself reflected in Him. I think the Holy Spirit gives us a rest that the love that the flesh can give. is measurably near zero, if not zero. And you know, it's easy to look at somebody and love them in Christ because we just do that by faith. First of all, remember the cross is the great equalizer, isn't it?

Everybody is the same at Calvary. There's no race, there's no gender, there's no socioeconomic status, There's no education. There's no musical ability. There's no king and queenship. There's no commeter. Everybody's equal at the cross. And when we think about the cross as the great equalizer, and we think about loving one another with brotherly love, that is the beginning of that whole process, I think. Because each one of us are so unworthy. And we've been saved by grace. And every person walking or riding in a wheelchair, Annie Merrill, or whatever process we get around is equal with us in terms of deserving only death. So the loving of someone else is a life. And when that life's living out in us, we in fact have a love that goes beyond being lovable. Because we're not so lovable at times either.

Just ask Margaret. Well, first Bob, before we go ahead, any comments on this? Anybody disagree with this? Is this heresy? Everybody's okay with where we're at here. Just a comment. When we are born again, look at another person. They have the Holy Spirit just like we do. Whether we like that other believer or not, the Holy Spirit is in that person. They have been accepted by the Lord. when they put their faith in him, who are we to not love someone?

In our Bible study a few years ago we had a couple who are no longer with us and in that study I used to make this statement there and I still think it's correct and he was really bothered by this statement and boy we used to get into fairly frank discussions about this.

The statement is this, you don't have to like everybody, you just have to love them. I mean, it's somewhat simplistic, but then it's quite profound if you think about it. You know, warm, fuzzy, hanging out with, spending lots of time with, is not what we're called to. We're called to love them unequivocally. And that's a whole different process. That's a whole different life. That's not something we work at.

That's the Lord Jesus Christ living through us. And it makes it a little easier, doesn't it? When we think, that's not, you know, just a graceful bounce, I'm just going to let it go. No, that's not it. It's an act of faith. Because for me, to look at anyone in terms of having that type of mindset really is the Lord Jesus Christ mindset. It's not me trying to be like that. It's really the life lived out. I think that's something that is the path to truth and righteousness and our working at it doesn't quite make it.

All right, verse 10 then. For also ye do this towards all the brethren in the whole of Macedonia, but we exhort your brethren to abound still more. I just thought the map would be useful. It's a little small. I apologize for this, but here is Thessalonica right here. It's kind of in the center of the map, a little up towards the left.

And this is all Macedonia. This whole area that includes today's Greece, It extends up into Turkey and down in here to Crete. This is all called Macedonia. So Thessalonica was kind of the church that was centrally located and ultimately this love for the brethren was extending through the church even up into greater areas of the geographic region.

Here, presumably down here, etc. So this was an abounding love that they were demonstrating and Paul is calling them to abound still more. Let's go ahead and look at the next slide. It also provides, I think, the emphasis here that don't stop where you're at. There's a lot more to be accomplished in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Apparently some of this love was already being demonstrated, as I just indicated. Notice the exhortation to abound still more. And this is a superlative phrase, which means it kind of excelled beyond. I mean, excelling itself has a statement, doesn't it? But now we're talking about excelling beyond, or to further extend, or to overflow, or to superabound.

So apparently the church in Thessalonica was already kind of living this out in their relationships with their fellow believers in the land of Macedonia. And this type of admonition, by the way, is not unique to the church at Thessalonica. I mean, in Paul's epistle to the Philippians, he said, in this I pray that your love may abound still more, same verb, and more in knowledge and all discernment. So here's a similar challenge to the church at Philippi in terms of abounding beyond where we're currently at. And what do we call that process? I mean, if brotherly love is being demonstrated and Paul's hearing about this, things are presumably going well, we're asked to do more. What's that process? That's spiritual growth, isn't it?

The fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is increasingly being manifested in each one of us. And you know, we're all feeling like we're never going to quite make it, don't we? But yet we're all fully accepted in the beloved. Never forget that. We're buried with him with baptism unto death and risen in newness of life.

And that's the process of the spirit working out the new nature in us is a life process. And God's timing is perfect. Sometimes I think the reason he took Sharon so young and me so old, I got so much more to learn here. God knows when each one of us is done with our time here, but this process of growth is this abounding more and brotherly love. Never ending. Yes, Barbara.

I think there's the aspect there too of allowing this to happen in ourselves. I know for me anyway, I tend to want to be in control. And I'm not going to grow too much unless I allow the spirit to let me grow. Is that a passive process, do you think? Well, not really. I think it's active that I have to surrender. I have to give up. Well, let me extend your thought process, which is really good, one step further.

The idea, by my faith and what God has said is true, this is something that occurs by our active faith. So, he's just asking us to believe. He's encountered us fully righteous, and that righteousness is the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, what Paul said in Philippians is so profound. For me to live is Christ, and die is gain. So, I mean, either way, I think you win there. but the life is the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's an active faith process for each and every one of us. This isn't passivity. God creates a rest for the believer, and that rest is the beginning of his process working out, by grace, our faith through us.

Right? Alright, and to seek earnestly to be quiet and mind our own affairs, work with your own hands, even as we charged you. All right, so this is kind of entering us into a new kind of part of the Christian conduct. And this is kind of, I mean, if you look at the King James, it says that we study to be quiet and do your own business.

I like that. Do your own business and to work with your own hands as we commit. I couldn't help but think of something I could share with you today from Mississippi. John Hurt. And the tune we're going to be playing for you is Nobody's Dirty Business But My Own. Okay? So, is everybody ready for this? Now we don't want to extend this too far. Now listen to this. What, 1928 or something?

Ain't nobody's business how my baby treats me. Nobody's business but mine. Ain't nobody's talk on business I'm a saintly treatment Ain't nobody's business but my own You can smile or you can frown Some of these morons gonna wake up crazy Gonna grab a gun and kill my baby Ain't nobody's business but my own Ain't nobody's talk on business I'm a saintly treatment I'm going to make you listen to all of it if we've got time.

Some of these mornin' gonna wake up boozy, gonna grab my gun, gonna kill ol' Suzy. Ain't nobody in this but mine. Boy, in fact, this fresh and cold is gonna buy my baby plenty more than nobody in this but my own. Say, baby, you get that letter or you take me back, I'll treat you better. Nobody's business but mine. Ain't nobody's doggone business I'm on. Baby, treat me. Nobody's business but my own. That's all I got to say about that.

Alright, this is With his completely unique and remarkably fluid playing style, Mississippi John Hurt recorded a total of 13 sides for the OK label in 1928. The story of his discovery in Teok, Mississippi and subsequent recording sessions in Memphis and later New York is the stuff of which blues legends are made. The resulting music, all of which has been carefully remastered herein, ranks among the finest and most memorable blues ever waxed. I'll let you make your own conclusions about the music.

Margaret and I have fun listening to this old CD at times and this one came to mind as I'm looking at the text before us. Now this is not the liberty we have in minding our own business to get your gun and shoot your baby. We want to make sure that anybody who ties into our website and listens to this Sun School lesson. You know, all morning as I was coming in, I was wondering what you were going to say to this CD. And to be honest with you, I'm not disappointed. All right, now the scripture said about minding our own business. Now let's not go where John Mississippi Hurt was at here. So what's the basis for this request? Well, the Greeks were kind of naturally a restless people. They were often given to meddling in other people's business. I mean, it's kind of very temporally important to the people that this epistle is being written to.

And I get some Old Testament stuff, but remember fornication last week, we pulled some very interesting things out of the Old Testament. And to summarize, for those who weren't here last week, the fornication issue. You know, every sin before God is equally as heinous. I mean, vanity and pride we're not confessing regularly, are we? Fornication is the same kind of deal, but the consequences of fornication are very different. So, here we're pulling Old Testament stuff again that I thought really fit here.

Proverbs 17.1, better is a dry morsel with quietness than a house full of feasting with strife.

Ecclesiastes 4.6, better a handful with quietness than both hands full together with toil and grasping for the wind. So we're talking about again in context this verse of minding our own business and not really causing a problem.

1 Peter 3.4, rather let it be the hidden person of the heart with the incorruptible beauty of the gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God, and that's talking about wives in general.

Lots of applications of this kind of rest and comfort and managing things right at home. Minding our own affairs or business pertains to everything that relates to us, me, us, ourselves, and not really somebody else. you know, we all are, you know, put in a position to live our own lives and carry them out in a godly manner. But this doesn't have to be everybody else's business, as Mississippi John Hurt was just singing to. If he wants to kill his friend, his girlfriend, whatever, maybe it's his wife, I don't know who it is, but he's singing about somebody's going to get his gun and take him in. So what about this relationship between minding our own business and You study to be quiet and do your own business and to work with your own hands as we commanded you.

What's this working with your hands stuff? What are your thoughts? Well, work is labor, doing. It's to be compared with inactivity or idleness. And let's save that one for a second. So working with our hands, do you think there's anything special about that? and working, you know. In fact, there's a lot of proverbs about that, this lawful man. So I kind of wonder if it's not kind of that idea, but obviously in today's culture you could be working hard at your computer and that wouldn't, you're working with your hands in a sense.

Well, you're jumping ahead, what about a white collar job? Are those the same in terms of just putting forth the effort? Are we talking about working and meeting the needs? Remember the second verse or verse 12 says we're gonna lack nothing. Is that entirely the practical aspects of working hard, minding our business that we would lack? Nothing? Or does it have more implications? Keep that in mind. Well, let me take this thought a little bit further and then we can discuss it.

Think of the practical benefits of working with your hands in this earthly world of pious idlers. I don't know about all you parents in the room, you know, nothing I hated more than kids just sitting around saying I got nothing to do. My grandmother used to say, idle hands make mischief.

And I think they really do. And today I would almost translate idle hands into kind of the computer age in which we live, because that's all fun and games. I mean, computers have value. We all use them. Many of us use them anyway. I have tremendous value in my work with my computer system. But, you know, sitting around playing games and finding other things on the computer to do really are probably not It's minding our own business, but not in the manner that God would have us mind our own business.

It seemed like, this reflects a little bit being a parent, it seemed like when I saw that and there was need to do something about it, putting kids to work with our hands was the best way rather than giving them some scholarly task to do. Like Clark, we had him tear down those sheds and all the work on the property when we ran into that issue with him. It seems to have an occupation of time that ultimately proves beneficial to get people outside or inside doing something physically. My late father-in-law, Sharon's father, Jack Kress, used to say, and I'm quoting him here, I think accurately.

This guy worked so hard. He had a white collar job during the day. He was out in the job going around expecting buildings. He was the associate building supervisor for the city of Cincinnati and looked at fire codes of all buildings under construction and even some that needed to be upgraded on a regular interval. He worked hard, built a couple of homes. I never saw him cease working, but yet when he sat down in the evening, he claimed that when he was physically fatigued, he was more spiritually alert.

Does anybody relate to that? You're physically tired, but you're kind of opened up into a whole new process spiritually. I can relate to this a little bit. Back to the issue of the I don't know about you other white collar workers in the room, but when I come home after a 12, 14 hour day and just being stressed like crazy with all the kind of things of this age in which we live with, I'm not more spiritually alert. I mean it's a different kind of process and I don't want to read too much into these texts and saying one is bad and one is good, but this working with your hands may have more practical value than we really think. Thoughts about this? Anybody want to comment? I guess it could be skiing too. I mean it wouldn't have to be work, but I think there's something about the physical aspect connected with a physical activity rather than a mental activity. I don't know.

And if you try to do it, you know, I actually spent a little time trying to do a scientific search. You know, the problem with this kind of area that's more nebulous and not really subject to double blind studies and the kind of scientific agenda that most of us think about day to day, you know, you can find anything you want to quote anything you want to quote. So I can't provide you any scientific evidence that this is true. But if you go on a website and try to cross a bunch of terms, seeing if you can come up to make a conclusion that this is really a valid statement, I don't know.

But God did say working with your hands. He didn't say work. He specified something related to physical labor. My father-in-law's experience is very anecdotal and very kind of an equals one kind of scenario. But I think there's maybe some truth to this. And the white-collar job situation many of us find ourselves in, creates a different kind of stress. It's certainly not physical stress, but it's more emotional stress relating to the agenda of the world system. Yes? In Bible times, working with their hands, it was a completely different kind of society. That's all the work there was. Right, you're right. It was either labor or at rest. You're right.

In context, there was no real kind of sitting at your computer or your desk and making money based on that type of activity. Although you presume some people were authors and painters and other things that relied less on the physical body. Yes, Roy? I don't know if this relates or not, but there was a lot of rich people that hired people to work with their hands for their benefit. So they weren't literally and labor and could be considered to be rich people who worked with their hands.

But if you think about that, this is more or less being occupied with the production of goods by your own efforts rather than Good. Lots of good thoughts. I'm not trying to sell you anything here. I'm just raising the concept as to whether this is applicable today in terms of physical labor versus just intellectual labor that many of us have in our job place.

Back in chapter 3 of 2 Thessalonians verse 11 it says, For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busy bodies. In a sense that really very much relates to this passage. We could look at the entire series of verses in 7 through 12 in chapter 3 of 2 Thessalonians. You might look at that on your own because it's entirely relevant to this verse. talks about this whole type of behavior of being very dependent and kind of, you know, into other people's business and really not following the imperative of this particular verse we're currently studying. Last verse today then is New King James. Again, the way I pick the translations is that that's closest to the interlinear Greek.

So here, that you may walk properly towards those who are outside and that you may lack nothing. So what's walking properly? Well, remember last week we talked about walking as kind of this business of being occupied. I mean, it's occupied with, I think it's occupied with a life is what it is. I mean, walking properly is the Lord Jesus Christ's life being lived out in the believer.

And I like that. It's a fairly narrow translation, but it relates to what we're doing day in and day out. It's not walking from here to the corner. to buy a gallon of milk. It's simply the walk, the life. And it's an occupation that reflects the behavior that's leading the life.

And properly is very simply in a seemly manner, decently, honestly. And in Romans 13, 13 we get a little bit better definition as to what this means. Let us walk properly as in the day, not in revelry, and drunkenness, not at lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. So those things are all an antithesis to walking properly. That's the opposite of walking properly.

1 Peter 2.12, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles. Now remember, we're talking about those outside who are observing our behavior. So walking or having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works which they observe glorify God in the day of visitation. That verse is worthy of study if you want. But the concept here is that conducting ourselves honorably has merit in the minds of the unbeliever and towards those that are on the outside.

Colossians 4.5, walk in wisdom towards those who are outside redeeming the time.

Remember, the world is measuring our performance. Is it important for us to be preoccupied with this concept that the world is measuring our performance? You say no. We're not trying to live up to their standards. What standards are theirs? But if we're living by Christ's standards, they're going to notice it because it's so different from what they're used to. All right, I think the danger of being preoccupied with this is not measuring up. Again, the concept of working at our life to take the old flesh and buff it up to make it better is always subject to failure.

The question I would have then is which life are they seeing? So, the concept of Christian life is that it's a life lived now. And honestly, I believe that the merits of an honorable life or a profitable or profitably lived life is not ours to judge. First of all, it's God's position to judge our lives. But secondly, that life lived is one that's apparent that we don't think about taking credit for, isn't it? I mean, this is not something we measure with a measuring stick to see how we're doing. It's a life that's lived out.

What about this lack of nothing now? The kind of promise here is that if we walk honestly towards them that are outside, meaning the Gentile world, all unbelievers, that you may have lack of nothing. That means if you're not living this life, you have needs? You mean this isn't the health and wealth We could make it that if you want. But is this simply practical as a result of our labors?

Scripture says we're completed in Him. There's nothing in Christ where you lack nothing basically. Of course, even if we lack the body, can, should, does respond, right? If we lack in material things, I mean, notice the verbs I've used here, the body, meaning the body of Christ, can, should, and does respond.

Do we believe that there's been no believer ever that died of starvation or froze to death? I don't, I believe there's been plenty of brothers and sisters of the Lord who have not had their physical needs met by the body. Has God failed? I don't think so.

But in scripture, we're called as a body of believers to meet the needs of those without physical means, who need food, who need clothing. So walking properly doesn't mean lacking nothing in terms of all the practical aspects of life, but it could apply in part to that. Because if one becomes estranged and is not walking properly, people are more in the world system, they get disassociated from the body of believers. If we extend the thought process, getting isolated into the world system, the body can't respond to meeting our needs. So that's kind of a stretch, but it's potentially an application of this. And let's take a look at 2 Corinthians 11, 7-9. I'll read that then.

Have I committed an offense in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely? I robbed other churches, taking wages of them to do you service. And when I was present with you and lacked, I was chargeable to no man, for that which was lacking to me the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied. And in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself. In a sense, in that small text, Paul's talking about this kind of minding his own business and meeting the needs, and his needs are met, he lacked nothing.

I mean, all that's kind of wrapped up very simply in those three verses. But to have the broad application that that's exactly what it means, I think restricts it. Because in Christ, as Roger just said, we have everything, we lack nothing. And that's a spiritual thing, as you point out, that's important.

So, the last thought that I'll leave with you, what does this mean to you, the fact that in Christ we lack nothing? What's it mean to you that in Christ we lack nothing? I mean, is that just kind of some quip we come up with, and just some statement that's scripturally based, but does it have meaning? Roger?

Well, some folks are out there looking for another experience or something else, and God says, no, positionally you're secure. You have it all. And it may take, it will take a lifetime to learn that. But we have it. We have it all. We're to believe that. We're to trust Him that we have all things in Him. What do we call that? Rest. Rest. Rest. We call it rest. What else do we call it? Position. Position. What do we call that in terms of... How about citizenship? Citizenship. In Christ we're... Fully established as citizens of the kingdom of heaven.

Position of truth then as it increasingly becomes conditional by our faith. In Christ we lack nothing takes on more meaning. Again for me to live as Christ and die as Cain. Precious truth isn't it? Either way you win. Let's pray. Father we're grateful this morning for the word that you've given so generously to us.

As we think of the prayer needs, we've got Matt and Barbara traveling here very soon, tomorrow I believe, and we pray that travel mercies would be theirs. I look forward to my visit to see my brother. Again, you have the path. paved that's ahead. The rules of my interaction with him is not to bring up the gospel, but yet in a man who's dying without faith, I have my biggest concerns about that particular aspect of his earthly existence. I pray that the Spirit would lead and you would open doors that are possibly walked through by faith. Thank you for this class, the text before us, and I pray for for Roger next week and Randy to follow with some of the greatest and most uplifting truth that we have for the body of Christ today and forevermore. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.