Today we come to the 15^th part in our series on being Holy and Free. As those who have been redeemed from our sin through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ, we want to honor our Lord by pursing holiness in our lives. As those made free from the curse of righteousness by works of the law, we do not want to go back into legalism. We want to live in the freedom Jesus Christ gives us while daily becoming more like Him.

 

This morning I want to deal with cultural traditions. That is especially appropriate at this time of year because, if we are not careful, many of our society’s cultural Christmas traditions can overwhelm the purpose of the season. There are, of course, many American cultural traditions that we may need to think through, but this morning, I want us to concentrate on those related to Christmas. The principles that we will learn here can be applied to any other cultural tradition.

 

One of the greatest areas of human pride is a parent over their children. I have met adults that can accept criticism in any other area that will not accept any criticism of their children. My friends, Gary & Ann Marie Ezzo, who founded and lead Growing Families International and whose material most of today’s sermon is based, have received severe and unjust criticism and condemnation over the years from folks who, from my view, do not like their parenting practices challenged. Some of them do not like the idea that they carry responsibility for the kind of adult their child becomes. Others react strongly because their area of greatest pride, their children, has been challenged. With that in mind, it is always with some trepidation that I venture into the area of child rearing, yet like the Ezzo’s, regardless of what reaction I receive, it is more important that the principles of God’s word be proclaimed concerning how we raise our children.

 

Last week we began looking at Ephesians 6:4 and the role of parents in the family, but we only got as far as the second word, "fathers." We must take seriously the responsibilities God has entrusted to us in giving us children. The task is something that is utterly beyond you or me, but with God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, our children can be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It is also so good to know that when I fail in carrying out all the Lord's commands to me concerning my children, God, as my loving heavenly Father, wants me to learn and do better, so He is ready to forgive me as I confess my sins to Him.

 

Over the last two weeks we have been discussing the family as part of our "Holy and Free" series. As Christians, we have a lot of freedom in Christ to choose the specifics of how wey will live within the parameters of pursuing holiness according to the commands and precepts of God’s Word. This is also true when it comes to the family. Each family will be different from every other Christian family in many specific areas, but every Christian must still fulfill the role that God has designed for them within those families. We have already discussed the role of the wife, the role of the husband and the role of the children. This morning we will examine Ephesians 6:4 and the role of the parents.

 

I think most people understand and would agree that the radical changes that have occurred in our society over the last two generations have resulted in the family being in trouble. I pointed out in an earlier sermon that the 2000 Census figures show that only 52.8% of households are now headed by married couples. Single parent families now account for over a 1/4 of all households. Overall, 30% of children now born in the U.S. are to single mothers, with that figure rising to over 70% in some sub-cultures. These figures do not even count the number of children never born because the mother chose abortion instead of life for her child. Marriage rates have dropped as people delay marriage until later in life or never do get married. Divorce rates remain high.

 

This morning I want us to return to our Holy & Free series that I have delayed for the last 6 weeks so that we could look at the purpose of the church. Remember that our purpose here is to Glorify God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ through Communicating New Life in Christ, Cultivating New Life in Christ, Caring for New Life in Christ and Celebrating New life in Christ. In our Holy & Free series we have already covered a lot of topics including as drugs, drinking, dancing, dress, music, entertainment, leisure, dating, courtship, marriage, and having children. Before we get into our exposition of the book of Philippians sometime next month. I want to expand on the subjects of marriage and children. There is a lot of freedom in the specifics of how a marriage might function and in the specifics of how children are raised, but there are also some very clear Biblical principles for both that we need to clearly understand if the specifics are to fit within Biblical parameters.

 

This morning we come to the fourth aspect of how we carry out our purpose. Here at Grace Bible Church we strive to Glorify God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ. We do that by Communicating New Life in Christ - Evangelism; Cultivating New Life in Christ - Edification; and Caring for New Life in Christ - Fellowship, and finally, Celebrating New Life in Christ - Worship.

 

I have spoken to you for the last three weeks about the purpose of the church which is to Glorify God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ. We carry out our purpose of making disciples through four tasks: Communicating New Life in Christ (evangelism); Caring for New Life in Christ (fellowship); Cultivating New Life in Christ (edification) and Celebrating New Life in Christ (worship).

 

Change is a part of life. Some changes are good and some are bad. Some changes are neutral, but all of them can add stress to life. We are glad to see our children getting taller and stronger, though it does mean buying them more clothes. Some of us are noticing more character wrinkles etched into our faces and our hair is changing color - for a few, that color is gray. We don’t really care for those changes. As you get older your perspective changes and instead of counting the years from birth, you start thinking more of how many years you may have until death. Some of have had the joy of adding members to your family this past year. Others have had the sorrows of family members passing away. There is constant change in our lives and stress because of it.

 

Last week we started our series on the church by explaining from the Scriptures the reason that we have stated that the purpose of Grace Bible Church is to Glorify God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ. We saw in our study of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 that Jesus’ command to make disciples was to be carried out by three activities. Going into all the world, baptizing those who believed, and teaching them to observe His commandments. This morning I want to expand on the first part of that - Going into all the world.

 

I had been planning to talk about raising children this morning as part of our "Holy & Free" series, but we are going to take a break from that for the month of October. I will get back to raising children and the several other issues left in that series in November.

 

This morning we are going to be looking at the Scriptures to see what God says about children, both having them and raising them. It is fitting to do this today since we will be having a baby dedication later in the service.

 

This morning we will continue in the series of messages I have entitled "Holy & Free." We have been examining the scriptures to see what Biblical commands, principles and precepts apply to various areas of everyday life. Many people strive to live the Christian life bound by non-Biblical rules that not only steal the joy out of walking with Christ, but are often legalistic in that they define righteousness by standards that God did not set. Other people go to the opposite of extreme in which they view the liberty spoken of in 2 Cor. 3:17 or the freedom spoken of in Gal. 5:1 as license to do whatever they want. But neither is true.

 

As all of you are well aware, tomorrow is Labor Day in the U.S. and so it would seem to be a fitting time to talk about work. Is labor a curse or a blessing?

 

What do you do for leisure? Some of you will immediately think of one particular activity while others of you will think of a whole list of things. Over the years Christians have responded in radically different ways to leisure.

 

This morning I want to continue from where we left off last week in our discussion of music in worship and then expand that into general principles on all music. Let me quickly summarize last week's message before going on this morning.

I approach this morning's message with some fear and trepidation because there is no greater area of opinion driven by emotion that can be discussed than music. The only other area I have found that people can be more touchy about is to talk with them specifically about how they are raising their children. In addressing this topic, I will be doing so first from the stand point of the use of music in the worship of God. I will make some comments here and there about the application of the basic principles we will be learning to wider application, but it will be next week that we will specifically tackle "secular" music and entertainment. If you simply keep in mind that Christians are to be Christians full time, then you should be able to make application of these principles to any circumstance

 

As we begin this morning, I want to remind you that if you were not here July 20^th, then get the tape, CD or the text of that sermon. It was the first part of this series we are doing on living in both holiness and the freedom we have in Christ. That sermon lays the foundation on which I am simply expanding and applying to particular areas.

 

For the next 6 weeks we are going to be getting into some "rubber meets the road" Christianity. We will be looking at how to live in both holiness and the freedom that we have in Christ. There should be no question that both freedom in Christ and holiness are not only compatible but are necessary. To pursue holiness without freedom results in legalism. To pursue freedom without holiness results in licentiousness. Both are dishonoring to God.

 

As a preface to this morning's sermon, I want you to know that the outline for it came from a taped sermon of John MacArthur's entitled "Making the Hard Decisions Easy." I remember the night MacArthur preached it some 17 or more years ago. It made an impression on me then, and I still think his outline was an excellent way to cover this subject, which is why I am using it with you this morning. What is the subject? How do you deal with those issues the Bible does not directly commend or condemn? How do you go about figuring out whether it is right before God to engage in any particular practice?

 

It has taken a year, but today we will complete our study of the book of Romans. I have personally enjoyed going through this book and have found it very beneficial to my own walk with the Lord. I trust that the same has been true for you.

 

How much do you like to hear you name? I guess that depends on why it is being used. None of us like to hear our name called if the one using it is mad at us or suspects us of doing something wrong. But what about when you hear your name called by someone you know loves you? Or how about when it is being said in order to recognize you in some special way either because of a good relationship you have or because of something good you have done? We like to hear our names then.

 

Turn to Romans 15. This morning we will be concluding our study of this chapter. Last week we saw Paul’s passion and plans in verses 14-29. This week we will examine his prayer requests. These requests are not something tacked on to the end of his discussion as a sign of piety. That may be the way that some people treat prayer, but not Paul. His prayer requests are a integral part of his passion to reach new places with the gospel of Christ and of his hope of seeing his plans for fulfilling that passion completed. Look at verse 30.

 

Passion. A word that can bring many different ideas to mind. In our society the word "passion" often has either a negative or a sensual connotation, and so one writer quipped that "the end of passion is the beginning of repentance." But Webster’s dictionary tells us that "passion" can refer to an intense emotion or enthusiasm without regard to the type of emotion or the specific cause of the enthusiasm generating it.

 

We have been looking at the topic of how Christians who come from very diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds are supposed to get along with each other within the church. Some groups have concluded that it is either not possible for this to happen or just not wise to try to do it because there are too many conflicts over differences in personal preferences and practices. Instead they advocate churches that are made up of people that are culturally and ethnically the same. While there may be some merit to this idea and historically this has been the common practice by churches, there is a major problem. The Bible presents the church as an ethnically and culturally diverse body from the very beginning of its existence.

 

How are Christians to get along with one another when they come from such diverse backgrounds? This is not just an issue for the manner in which churches from different nations or regions relate to each other. For a church such as Grace Bible in which there are diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds among its members, this can be a very personal issue. There are many matters that are not directly addressed in the Bible, and conflict can arise over differences in personal standards. How are those conflicts to be resolved when there is not a clear Scriptural solution as to which standard is right and which one is wrong? I think it should be easy for us to consider that both personal standards could be wrong, but could both standards be right? How Christians get along with each other in the midst of these kinds of conflicts will be a reflection of their spiritual maturity and love for Jesus Christ and one another.

 

Our choir has presented to you the Resurrection Cantata, Three Days, by Deborah Craig-Claar and Camp Kirkland that very quickly presents the life of Jesus Christ and then concentrates on the last day of His life and His resurrection from the dead three days later. Three days that changed the world. But in order to understand the importance of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection we must first understand the condition of man that required this great sacrifice and greater triumph over man’s enemies, sin and death.

The songs and hymns we have song tonight have spoken about Jesus as our "redeemer." What exactly does it mean that Jesus is our "redeemer," and what was He redeeming us from?

When I was in my late teens and early 20's, there was a family of Vietnamese refugees that lived in next door to us. It was an eye opening experience as we tried to understand one another. As a welcome to our neighborhood, my mom gave them a plate of cookies. That began a series of gift exchanges of various food items. I am still not sure what some of them were. The most elaborate was a roast duck they brought over one time, but I did not get to try it. My mom didn’t want to eat a duck that still had its head attached. We gave it to the neighbors on the other side of us, who said it was quite good. My dad and I went next door once for a meal celebrating the grandfathers' birthday. We learned that day that they did not use much sugar, if any at all, even in their deserts. That made me wonder what they had thought of all the cakes, cookies and other sweets we had given to them. Perhaps about the same as my mom thought of a duck with its head on.

 

Turn to Romans 13:8 as we continue our study of this book. Remember that all that Paul says in this chapter is based upon what he has said in chapter 12:1,2 Our relationship with God, other Christians and all other people is based on having the right response to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. The only reasonable response to our salvation through faith in Christ is to present ourselves as living and holy sacrifices acceptable to God. We are transformed into living sacrifices through a mind that is changed by the truth of God’s word which is then put into action by our will in doing what God desires instead of continuing in selfishness.

 

The timing of our study of Romans 13:1-7 could hardly be better. Our passage this morning instructs us on the origin and purpose of government. Given the debating that has been going on for quite sometime about the role and authority of government in prosecuting a war, we need to understand what God says about it. It is also always very relevant for us to understand the relationship of the Christian to government, but perhaps even more so when we look at our calendars and see there are only about three weeks left to file your Federal & State income taxes.

 

We have been studying Romans for the past 14 months. I trust that you now understand that when a person places their faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, there are radical changes that take place. When a person is justified through faith in Christ, they have a change of masters . They are freed from bondage to sin and the devil and made slaves of God and righteousness. They are then progressively changed to be conformed into the image of Christ as they present themselves as living and holy sacrifices acceptable to God and are transformed by the renewing of their minds .

 

We have been studying Romans 12 and what Paul has to say about the practical ramifications of being a Christian. When a person becomes a Christian there are changes that will occur in that person’s life as a result of their new beliefs. Paul states very directly in Romans 12:1 that the only reasonable response of worship that we could have to God’s mercies to us in Jesus Christ which have resulted in our salvation is that we should present our bodies as living and holy sacrifices that are acceptable to God. We have spent the bulk of our time in closely examining what Paul says about how being a living sacrifice acceptable to God should work out in our everyday lives.

 

This morning we are going to continue in our study of Romans 12. Paul has presented deep theology in the first 11 chapters, and now he is applying these theological truths to practical, every day living. In view of God’s mercies to man in Jesus Christ who, being God in human flesh, lived a sinless life and willingly laid down His life on the cross as the substitute sacrifice in atoning for our sins, then rose again from the dead on the third day proving Himself and His promises of salvation from sin for those who believe in Him to be true, there should be a corresponding response by those who profess such faith. They are to present themselves as living and holy sacrifices which are acceptable to God. This is the reasonable response of true worship of God. Such a person is then changed over time to be a reflection of Jesus as they are transformed by the renewing of their minds.

 

There are many kinds of friendship ranging from casual acquaintances to best friends. But what is the nature of the love in friendship that God desires for us to have for one another? Perhaps the following story of two men in WW I gives us an idea of it.

 

Have you ever met someone who professed to be a Christian, but their life style made you seriously question their claim? Even non-Christians know that there are certain characteristics of behavior and attitude that should mark the Christian. When those characteristics are obviously lacking, then there becomes a question as to whether a person’s claim to be a Christian is actually true.

 

For several weeks we have been examining Spiritual Gifts. We have covered those gifts listed in Romans 12 and similar gifts mentioned in other passages. This morning I want us to examine the "sign" gifts of 1 Corinthians 12. This passage is often misunderstood due to the strong influence of the Charismatic movement. Much of what people commonly understand about this passage is based in experience and not on what the text actually says. Our goal is to live according to what God actually says and not on what people say based on their experiences. Turn to 1 Corinthians 12.

 

Ruling, leading, administration, governing. Words that can have quite a few different meanings to different people. Some think of rulers as autocratic. They are in charge and everyone else must do as they say. Others think of leaders as those who will get out in front to make a path for those who will follow. They put themselves at risk before anyone else does. Then there is administration and governing. In mind of some, that is the person who does all the administrative work on behalf of the majority of the group that tells him what to do.

 

This morning we are going to pick up again in our study of the book of Romans. We had been examining chapter 12 and the topic of Spiritual Gifts. It is important that we remember the context in which Paul presents Spiritual Gifts within this book. Turn again to Romans 12. Starting in verse 1 we read the following: