Put on … forgiveness

• Colossians 3:12-13

• What is forgiveness?

  • I John 1:9

  • The word forgiveness means “leave, abandon, or release.”

  • The same Greek word translated forgiveness is also translated to other English words:

    • Matthew 27:50 – “yielded up” His spirit

    • Matthew 4:20 – “left” their nets

    • Matthew 4:22 – “left” their boat and father

    • I Corinthians 7:11 – “divorce” his wife

God is the source of forgiveness.

• Psalms 130:3
• Psalms 103:10-13 – We don’t want God to deal with us according to our sins!
• Acts 5:30-31; 13:3-39 – Forgiveness of sin is only through Jesus and His sacrifice.
• II Chronicles 33:5-6, 9, 12-13 – Even evil king Manasseh received forgiveness after he humbled himself before God.

God is the motivation for forgiveness.

• Matthew 6:12-15 – We should have an attitude of forgiveness because we are thankful for our own forgiveness.
• Matthew 18:21-35; Hebrews 10:29 – People’s sins against me cannot compare with humanity’s sins against God.
• Ephesians 4:32

God is the example of forgiveness.

• Colossians 3:13

• Does the Bible require me to forgive and forget?

  • This is a common phrase, but it is not found in the Bible.

  • Hebrews 10:17, 3 – Peter and Paul were forgiven, but their sins were recorded in Scripture. They could not be forgotten!

  • Genesis 50:15-21 – Joseph was willing to forgive but could not forget the sins his brothers had committed against him that put him in the position he was in. He did let go of any desire to retaliate. He showed them love.

• Must one repent to be forgiven?

  • Matthew 18:15-17; Luke 17:3-4 – We are not instructed to jump to forgiveness.

  • I Corinthians 5:1-2 vs. II Corinthians 2:6-8 – If this is referring to the same man, evidently, he repented.

• What about the statements from Jesus and Stephen?

  • Luke 23:34

  • Acts 2:22, 36-38; 3:13-15, 19

  • We should have an attitude of forgiveness.

Introduction

• Romans 16:16 – These were groups “of Christ.”
• I Corinthians 1:2

Jesus was the authority

• Acts 11:20-26
• Romans 6:3 – People were baptized into Christ – not into a church or a denomination.
• Christians are primarily loyal to Christ – not to their local church.
• I Corinthians 5:1-2 – Local churches can make mistakes!
• II John 1:9 – We must abide in Christ’s teaching.
• John 12:48

Sin was dealt with

• II Thessalonians 1:1; 3:6, 14-15 – Keep away from unruly brethren.
• Galatians 1:2; 6:1-2 – Try to restore a brother that is caught up in sin.
• Acts 20:17, 28-32
• I Timothy 1:3
• II Timothy 4:1-5

The church was a spiritual team

• Philippians 1:1, 27; 4:15-16

• We can read about New Testament local churches:

  • Getting organized with elders and deacons (Philippians 1:1)

  • Praying in a crisis (Acts 12:5)

  • Taking up collections of money (I Corinthians 16:1-2)

  • Sending money to gospel preachers (Philippians 4:16)

  • Trying to get a brother in sin to repent (Matthew 18:17)

  • Providing for its needy members (Acts 6:1)

  • Coming together to worship (I Corinthians 14)

There was lots of teaching and study

• Jerusalem: Acts 2:41-42; 4:2; 5:21, 28, 42; 6:7
• Antioch: Acts 11:20, 26; 13:1; 15:35
• Acts 17:11

Members were simply Christians

• “Christian” – I Peter 4:16; Acts 11:26; 26:28
• “Saints” – Acts 26:10
• “Brethren” – Hebrews 3:1

Love your enemies (Matthew 5:43-48)

• Not just your neighbor

• Also your enemies – Romans 12:14-21

• Reflects back on us

  • Ephesians 5:1

  • Romans 5:8 – Christ died for us while we were still sinners!

  • Romans 2:24 – Our behavior reflects back on God.

  • I Peter 2:12

  • Our behavior should demonstrate that we are children of God.

• Who is our example?

  • Jesus!

• How are we to be perfect?

  • Complete in terms of love for others.

  • God’s love is perfect when it fills His capacity for love. When our love is perfect, it fills our capacity.

Nor for show (Matthew 6:1-18)

• Beware!

  • Meaning

    • Don’t do good deeds to be seen of men. Do them quietly and humbly to help others.

    • Examples

      • Celebrities giving to causes in very public ways

      • Long prayers in public

    • Results – positive, negative

    • Self-promotion – Jehu (II Kings 10:16, 31)

      • Examples

      • Consistency – Proverbs 27:2; John 5:44; Matthew 23:25

Put on … the full armor of God

• Ephesians 6:10-17 – This is spiritual warfare. Our strength for the fight comes from God!

Having girded your loins with truth

• Ephesians 4:20-24
• John 8:31-32, 44-45

Having put on the breastplate of righteousness

• I John 3:12
• Romans 6:12-13 – We may not think of good deeds as armor, but they work that way. If we occupy our minds and bodies with righteous acts, we’ll find little time to fall into the devil’s traps.

Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace

• The idea is standing on solid ground and having a strong foundation.

Taking up the shield of faith

• With faith, we are “able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

• Examples of some flaming arrows others may hurl at us:

  • “The Bible is just a book of fairy tales.”

  • “Christianity has been used to justify more evil than just about anything else.”

  • “The best science points toward evolution. Creation is a myth.”

    • Hebrews 11:3

Take the helmet of salvation

• The crowning glory of a Christian is that he or she looks forward to Heaven. A Christian can look death squarely in the face because he wears the armor of God.
• I Corinthians 15:54-57

And take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

• Revelation 2:16
• II Timothy 2:15

Introduction

• The Lord’s church does not continue by succession. (A local church does not trace it’s history back to other local churches in the past.)
• The church in the universal sense is a direct relationship between God and Christians. There is no other structure involved.
• In a local church, saints depend on each other to work and worship together.

Three basic forms of church government

Universal concept

• Universal church is made up of local churches, each made up of Christians.

• The prime example of this concept is the Roman Catholic church, where the pope acts as the universal overseer.

• Structure:

  • Universal oversight

  • Universal treasury

  • Universal work

Brotherhood concept

• Local churches operate under the oversight of a conference. The conference only has oversight over churches in that conference.

• A good example of this concept is the Southern Methodist Conference.

• Structure:

  • Brotherhood oversight

  • Brotherhood treasury

  • Brotherhood work

• The conference has power to move and replace preachers, as well as pass teaching material down to local churches.

Local concept

• Members belong to local churches, with no organization above. Local churches have full autonomy.

• Structure:

  • Local oversight – Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:5

  • Local treasury – I Corinthians 16:1

  • Local work – Philippians 4:15-16; II Corinthians 11:8; I Corinthians 9:14

• Churches of Christ are an example of this concept, where Jesus is the head.

• This is the only organization approved in the Bible.

Brotherhood + local concept

• Local churches join a convention. The convention maintains a very loose control over member churches.

• A good example would be the Southern Baptist Convention.

  • They claim:

    • Local oversight

    • Local treasury

    • Local work

  • They also have:

    • Brotherhood oversight

    • Brotherhood treasury

    • Brotherhood work

      • Buckner Children’s Home

      • Baptist Hour radio program

• Another example would be “Churches of Christ” (those that subscribe to institutionalism)

  • They claim:

    • Local oversight

    • Local treasury

    • Local work

  • They also have:

    • Brotherhood oversight

    • Brotherhood treasury

    • Brotherhood work

      • Herald of Truth

      • Bole’s Children’s Home