Help Wanted

If God’s people would please
take their Bibles one, at least one more time, and turn to Colossians
chapter four. Lord willing, we will be in Colossians
chapter four next week as well, and I look to wrap up our study,
Lord willing. Christ’s church is an amazing
institution. It is, at the same time, God’s
building project, but it’s a project on which all of his people also
work. Christ declared to Peter that,
I will build my church, Matthew 16, and yet each individual believer
not only becomes the material itself, or the edifice of the
church, living stones, as Peter calls them, but they are also
those who are actively contributing to the building of the church. Paul says it this way in Ephesians
chapter 4, every saint has been gifted by the Holy Spirit, specially
equipped for the service of his church. This is how he says it
there, the whole body being fitted and held together by that which
every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each
individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building
up of itself in love. His point there is that every
believer is gifted. Every believer is part of the
building process. And ultimately, every believer
is part of the structure itself. It’s an amazing image. Several
years ago, in our study of 1 Corinthians, we learned some wonderful truths
about the giftedness of all believers. First Corinthians chapter 12
specifically focuses on that subject. And the first thing
that we learned is that the Holy Spirit gives a wide variety of
gifts to the church. Verses four through 10 details
that, where every believer is gifted, but not all believers
receive the same gifts. There is diversity in the kind
of gifts dispensed. And there is also to be unity
in that diversity. Varieties of gifts, as Paul says,
but the same Spirit. And we learned, secondly, that
these amazing gifts are given freely according to the Holy
Spirit, distributing to each one individually just as he wills. The Holy Spirit determines who
receives what gift. Particular gifts cannot be sought
or earned or bartered as if you’re selling a used car.
Thirdly, we saw that God himself places the variously gifted members
into one body. In verse 18 of that chapter,
God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body just
as he desired. God does what God wants in that
regard. God sovereignly places each variously
gifted child of God into his or her particular setting, the
church. The Holy Spirit gifts and provides
the church, down to the local level, everything that they need
for ministry. And it’s here that we come into
a bit of a paradox regarding the workers on this project known
as the church, because 1 Corinthians 12 tells us that the church has
everything it needs. Everything necessary for service
to God and yet the church constantly faces needs. And therein lies
that fascinating paradox because it could truly be said that there
is always a great need for workers in this project. As believers,
we’ve been variously gifted as those same believers are called
to serve There’s obviously a great need in the church for every
single believer. Every believer must be about
the task of exercising his or her spiritual gifts, God given
as they are. Christ’s church needs it. Jesus
put it this way. In the Gospel of John, Jesus,
you might recall, looked up at the crowd that was cresting the
hill, coming from the Samaritan village, and he declared to his
apostles, do not say there are yet four months, then comes the
harvest. Behold, I say to you, lift up
your eyes and look. Look on the fields that they
are white for harvest. Jesus was alluding to these people
and to the great opportunity they had for the gospel. Jesus
uses that same agricultural metaphor in Matthew chapter 9. When he
urges his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the workers
are few. therefore beseech the Lord of
the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.” And so in
a very real way, the church has its needs, and yet it’s always
in need of additional help. It is as if there is a massive
help wanted sign posted on the window of Christ’s church, but
it’s a sign that should never be removed. That’s the paradox. What the Holy Spirit provides
is absolutely adequate, it is enough, and yet the church is
always in need of additional help. No one knew this paradox,
its blessings and difficulties, more than did the Apostle Paul.
Paul knew the leanness of fellow workers in the gospel ministry,
And he also knew the call to contentment, to be satisfied
with whatever God provided. But he was a man also who was
constantly seeking yet another generation of workers to train.
Paul embraced the paradox. And yet if anyone ever responded
to the help wanted sign and approached him about it, He would have been
ready to provide them with a lengthy list of needs, areas in the church
that needed help. I’m convinced that in essence,
that’s what he’s doing in our passage this morning. In Colossians
chapter four, in this section, as we draw to the close of the
book of Colossians, he’s outlining the perpetual needs of the church.
by means of the example of those he acknowledges. If you would,
I want to take verses 10 through 15 this morning, and we’ll read
it first, and then I’ll come back with some additional thoughts. Verse 10, Aristarchus, my fellow
prisoner, sends you his greetings. And also Barnabas’s cousin, Mark,
about whom you received instructions. If he comes to you, welcome him.
And also Jesus, who is called Justice. These are the only fellow
workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision. And they have proved to be an
encouragement to me. Epaphras. who is one of your
number, a bond slave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings,
always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you
may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. For I
testify for him that he has a deep concern for you. And for those
who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis, Luke, the beloved physician,
sends you his greetings, also Demas. Greet the brethren who
are in Laodicea and also Nympha and the church that is in her
house. Now I know some people might
look at these verses and consider them to be irrelevant. that for
me to try to milk out some truths and principles would be trivial. I mean, after all, it’s true,
most of these comments could be distilled down to greetings. Four times in five verses. Aristarchus says hello. Epaphras
also said to say hi. And oh yes, my friend Luke wanted
me to forward his greetings to you. Did you ever pause to think about
greetings? What does something like that
communicate to the hearer? It tells the recipient that they
are important to the one who sent them the greeting, that
they care about them, that they are thinking about them, that
praying for them, that their friendship is valuable. And so
these expressions of greeting serve to establish or preserve
or even deepen relationships. Paul includes these often in
his epistles, as you’re aware. But there is much more to these
verses than mere greetings. And I beg to differ with the
characterization that these verses are irrelevant or trivial. Like
all the rest of Scripture, truth oozes and exudes from every pore
of the Bible. And here, too, what Paul is doing
is presenting various individuals, mentioning each time their particular
giftedness or area of service, and thereby setting forth the
timeless needs of the church. Christ’s church has a need for
people, but not just any people. There are qualifications for
the particular kind of help wanted in the church. If you would,
go back to verse 10. We want to look at the help needed,
the help described behind the help wanted sign. And the first
thing that we see is that Christ Church needs more people who
are willing to suffer for the Lord. Look at verse 10, Aristarchus,
my fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings. The first individual
mentioned is this Aristarchus, a man that is first mentioned
in Acts 19. He’s one of Paul’s traveling
companions, but almost immediately, he finds himself much deeper
in ministry than he probably ever planned. In Acts 19, when
the city of Ephesus erupts in a violent protest against Paul,
not only, rather, both Aristarchus and a man named Gaius are swept
up and arrested just for being with Paul. This may well be the
reason that Paul refers to him here in Colossians 4.10 as his
fellow prisoner. The next we hear of Aristarchus
is in Acts 20. We find Paul on his third missionary
journey, headed ultimately to Jerusalem with that sizable gift
for the church there. It’s a relief fund intended to
relieve the saints there who were in the midst of a famine.
It was a gift from the Gentile church to the Jewish converts
there in Jerusalem. And as a result, Paul has with
him a number of companions traveling with him, gathered from the various
Gentile churches that Paul had planted and ministered in. And
Luke records that he was accompanied by a few men, Sopater of Berea,
Aristarchus, and Secundus of the Thessalonians, Gaius of Derbe,
Timothy, Tychicus, and Trophimus of Asia. All Gentiles, all traveling
with Paul for the purpose of attending this gift. And so Aristarchus
is one of Paul’s stalwart companions, eagerly serving alongside the
apostle. He’s also mentioned in Acts 27
as accompanying Paul, whether willingly or as a fellow prisoner,
on this epic journey by sea to Rome, where Paul had appealed
to Caesar. You might remember that. But
there’s an interesting twist. Here in Colossians 4, he calls
Aristarchus his fellow prisoner and refers to Epaphras as his
fellow worker. Paul wasn’t confused because
in the companion letter of Philemon, it’s the other way around. Epaphras
is his fellow prisoner and Aristarchus is his fellow worker. It’s reasonable
to conclude that both men must have occupied each of those positions
at some point or another. They were both fellow workers.
They were both fellow prisoners. And since they were laboring
right alongside Paul, if the civil authorities suddenly got
upset, it was reasonable to think that they would gather up all
of these individuals. So with regard to this Aristarchus,
Whether Paul was talking about that initial incident in Ephesus
when he was arrested, or about Paul’s current house arrest where
they just decided to include Aristarchus there too, the thing that most stood out
to Paul about Aristarchus was his willingness to suffer for
the Lord. Think of it. For most people, probably us
included, that initial episode in Ephesus would have been enough.
Okay, I’ve seen enough of ministry. Prison, jail, abuse at the hands
of civil authorities, no thank you. But the way Paul puts it
here, is that the church needs more people who are willing to
suffer for the Lord. We’re called to suffer as believers. We’re called to a life of difficulty.
We’re called, if necessary, even to lay down our life for the
cause of Christ. Suffer hardship with me, Paul
urged young Timothy. And our first observation here
is that Christ’s church needs more people who are willing to
suffer for the Lord. Secondly, Paul moves along quickly,
as will we. Christ’s church needs more people
who are willing to suffer for the Lord, but the church needs
more people who pursue reconciliation with others. Would you look at
verse 10 once again? This time at an individual named
Mark. Paul says it this way, also Barnabas’s
cousin Mark, about whom you received instruction, if he comes to you,
welcome him. That’s it. Paul mentions Mark,
he’s one of the most enigmatic people in the Bible. I say enigmatic because he’s
a complicated individual in scripture. He’s the same Mark that wrote
the gospel. bearing his name. But his ministry
history is rather bumpy. We first hear of John Mark early
in the book of Acts in 1212. He’s remember part of that prayer
meeting. Peter’s been arrested and they’re
having a prayer meeting in this house and John Mark was there. They’re praying for Peter’s release
and all of a sudden, you know, Peter knocks at the door and
they can’t believe that their prayers had been answered. Paul
and Barnabas immediately invite this young man along on their
ministry endeavors. He must have shown some promise
because they subsequently invite him along on their very first
missionary journey. An amazing story. Unfortunately,
it’s there in the midst of that effort that scripture very subtly
records an incident. Luke just records there in Acts
13 that right in the midst of this mission, first missionary
journey, that John left them and returned to Jerusalem. It
doesn’t indict him. It doesn’t explain it. We don’t
know why. The Bible provides no other detail
at all, but we know it didn’t sit well with Paul. Because later
on, at the end of Acts 15, when Barnabas and Paul are preparing
to go out on their second missionary journey, Barnabas wants to take
John Mark with them, and Paul balks at the idea. He considered
John Mark a deserter. You know the rest. There arose
such a sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas that they separated
from one another, never again to minister together that we
know. This is that John Mark. And that
tells us a lot. Paul would not have been inclined
to brush off and just forget about such a betrayal. And that
means that at some point John Mark must have repented and sought
to make things right with Paul. Because now Mark is due to visit
the Colossian church and Paul instructs them to welcome him. You see Mark’s poor reputation
probably preceded him. People knew about his defection
from ministry. And Paul mentions instructions
to the church that were almost certainly sent by Paul himself.
We have no idea about these instructions, whether they were positive or
negative. Perhaps Paul had written them and said, whatever you do,
if this man comes into your church, do not let him teach. He’s a
quitter. We don’t know the content of
these instructions. But here, suddenly, Paul instructs
them to welcome John Mark. He wants to clear Mark’s name.
He seeks to restore Mark in the eyes of the church. And just
to seal the deal, he drops the name of a servant, none other
than Barnabas. Perhaps he even informs them
of something they didn’t know, that this John Mark is related
to Barnabas. And that indicates that the church
knew and respected Barnabas. The mere mention of his name
would help to clear away any misgivings they had about John
Mark. It’s a reminder to us that just
like John Mark, the church needs more people who are willing to
pursue reconciliation with others. As believers in Christ, we are
to pursue peace, Hebrews 12, Romans 14, 2 Timothy 2-2. We are not to harbor unforgiveness
or keep alive some kind of caustic sin of bitterness. We are to
make every effort to be restored to an offended brother or sister
in Christ. And this is what Mark and Paul
had done. They model this for us here.
So great was the reconciliation between John, Mark, and Paul
that in Paul’s final words there in 2 Timothy 4, verse 11, Paul
says of this young man, bring him for he is useful to me for
service. What a complete reconciliation
there was. Peace was restored between them.
They were reconciled to each other. The church needs more
people who are willing to reconcile with those with whom they are
at odds. Thirdly, the church needs more people who, regardless
of social pressure, are not afraid to follow Christ. If you look
at verse 11, where Paul mentions here now another unknown individual,
Jesus, who is called justice. For the third individual, we
know almost nothing about this man. Paul does fold him into
the mix as a fellow worker and that evidently he and John Mark
were the only Jewish converts, converts to Christianity who
were associated with Paul in ministry. To be a Jew and to
become a follower of Christ would have been extremely challenging
in that culture. It would have been extremely
costly socially and financially. But these men were not intimidated.
They didn’t walk away from Christ because people might disagree. They followed Christ knowing
the difficulties they faced as a result. And as such, they were,
as Paul says, an encouragement to him. It’s an amazing thing. Other
than this, we know absolutely nothing about this man, and yet
Paul commends him as an encouragement to him personally. What a grand
thing that is. The most notable person like
this, someone willing to suffer, would be that man born blind
in John chapter 9, remember? There was a man who stood to
lose everything by following Christ. They were preparing to
excommunicate him, and that meant the loss of fellowship, the loss
of friends, being ostracized from his family, the loss of
ability to buy and sell in the marketplace, everything. And
yet, he stood boldly with and for Jesus Christ. And so also
with John Mark and Justice. As Jews, they were willing to
follow Christ. Our Lord Jesus put it this way
in Luke chapter 14. Whoever does not carry his own
cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you,
when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate
the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? These men, John Mark and Justice, they counted
the cost and they pursued Christ in spite of it. There are similar
cultural challenges in our own day, aren’t there? Christ Church
needs more people who are not afraid to follow Jesus Christ
just because of social pressure. Fourth, Christ’s church needs
more people who are willing to suffer, reconcile with others,
not afraid to follow Christ, and fourth, who are sold out
for the service of Christ. They’re sold out for the service
of Christ and his church. Would you look at verse 12? Epaphras,
who is one of your number, a bond slave of Jesus Christ, sends
you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers. This is the most complete description
of any of these individuals in this entire list. We’re first
introduced to Epaphras back in chapter one. Paul says some amazing
things about him there. He referred to him as our beloved
fellow bond servant and faithful servant of Christ on our behalf.
These glowing attributions are due to the fact that Epaphras
had heard the gospel, likely from Paul, had become a Christian,
and had taken the gospel back to his hometown of Colossae. This is the reason that Paul
acknowledges him here as Epaphras, one of your number, one of your
church members. He was from there. Further still,
it’s likely that he was the one that planted the church there
and possibly also the church in Laodicea and the church in
Hierapolis, just neighboring cities. This was a faithful servant
of Christ. Epaphras not only brought the
Colossians news of the gospel, he had brought Paul news of the
Colossians reception of the gospel. Without Epaphras, Paul might
not have known anything about what was going on in the church
of Colossae. So we’re not surprised here in
chapter four to hear Paul express similar things about him, that
he’s a bond slave of Christ. All in all, Epaphras is only
mentioned three times in the New Testament. Here, Colossians
1, 7, and 8, and one verse in Philemon. But from these passages,
we get a rich, clear picture that he was an individual that
was completely committed, sold out for the service of Christ
and his church. This is the man who traveled
more than a thousand miles from Colossae to Rome just to bring
Paul a report about this church. And once he was there, his ministry
wasn’t finished, he labored with Paul. But Paul seems to suggest
that the most prevalent area of ministry for this man, prayer. Laboring earnestly, he says. The word there in the Greek is
agonizomai. You heard it. It’s the word from
where we get our word, agony. It refers to an agonizing toil
that was often used to describe an athlete’s preparation for
competition. Epaphras was laboring to exhaustion. in the realm of prayer, the sacred
duty of prayer, and this on behalf of the Colossian church. And his most urgent prayer for
them was that they would stand, that they would stand perfect
and assured, that they would be completed steadfast. Steadfast
against trials and persecution, against the fickle and unpredictable
winds of culture. Those concerns, says Paul, produced
in him an intense focus of prayer on behalf of this church. This
man was indeed a bond slave of Jesus Christ, a faithful servant.
There was nothing for Epaphras that he would not do in the service
of Christ. Christ’s church needs more people
who are sold out for the service of the church. Number five, Christ’s
church needs more people who are willing to serve according
to their gifts, skills, and training. Would you look at verse 14? This won’t take long, Luke, the
beloved physician sends you his greetings. Paul mentions this
fifth person well known to any student of scripture, Luke. He’s
a writer of the largest, large portion of the New Testament,
not only the gospel that bears his name, but also his second
volume dedicated to his friend Theophilus, the Book of Acts. It’s more than a passing interest
here that together with Mark, half of the gospel writers are
directly associated with Paul’s ministry, Mark and Luke. As for Luke, it was astounding
to me personally to discover this. One of Paul’s most devoted
traveling companions, prolific author, is only mentioned three
times in the Bible. Here in Colossians 4, almost
a passing mention in 2 Timothy, where Paul just says, only Luke
is with me. And a brief reference in Philemon,
three times. Although he’s only mentioned
three times by name, Luke has a, there’s a fascinating feature
in Luke’s gospel, in the book of Acts. Luke is the author of the book
of Acts, and there are many sections of that book that are known as
the we sections. For those of you who studied
it with us, Luke is writing in the first person, the first person
plural, because he’s with Paul during those time periods. He
just never mentions his name. Here in Colossians 4, the only
other thing that is communicated about this man is this little
tidbit. He’s the beloved physician. Given Paul’s several ailments,
it’s not surprising to hear of his affection for this traveling
doctor. It’s one thing for a doctor to
make a house call, which they don’t do anymore. It’s quite
another thing for him to travel the globe with you. No wonder
Dr. Luke was beloved by Paul. The
church needs more people like Luke. Not those who possess some fantastic
sign gift or are willing to pay for their own seminary. The church
needs those who are willing to roll up their sleeves and serve
in the only way that they know how. According to their skills,
according to their training, according to their passions and
inclinations. Luke was a trained physician
and he was already a capable writer, but it was enough. And through his ability to communicate
by recording these events, researching and gathering accounts, and then
synthesizing them, in addition to his training as a medical
doctor, evaluating and treating sickness, it was enough. Luke, rather, simply set about
to serve in the way that he knew how. Christ’s church needs More
people who serve according to their gifts and skills and training. You didn’t think I’d make it,
did you? We still have 15 minutes. I’m only on point six. Christchurch
needs more people who are willing to suffer, willing to be reconciled
to others, not afraid to follow Christ, sold out for the service
of Christ Church, serving according to their giftedness and skills
and training. Number six, Christ Church needs
more people who keep themselves from the love of the world. Would you look at verse 14? What
an uncomfortable passage this is. And also Demas. I didn’t leave anything out.
The sixth individual mentioned is arguably the most delicate
in this entire list. Paul really doesn’t say anything
about him, except that he’s there. And as uncomfortable as that
is, perhaps it’s warranted. Paul goes a bit further in the
companion letter to Philemon, because there he refers to Demas
as a fellow worker. That’s a pretty exclusive group.
Paul refers to only about 15 people under that designation.
Priscilla and Aquila, Urbanus, Timothy, Apollos, Titus, Epaphroditus,
Clement, Aristarchus, Mark, Justice, Timothy, Philemon, Luke, and
Demas. Pretty exclusive list. And yet
Paul is strangely silent about Demas here. In this lengthy list
where he speaks so highly of so many different people, about
Demas he says nothing. Also Demas, that’s it. While
it’s difficult to draw out a spiritual principle based on negative information,
I believe we can and should here. You see, Demas serves as a kind
of example of those who keep themselves from the love of the
world, but it’s a negative example. How is it possible to draw such
a conclusion when Paul is completely silent about the character of
Demas? Here, let me explain. Demas is another one who is referred
to only a few times in Scripture, three times in all. here, Philemon,
and as I mentioned. And then one last time in Paul’s
final letter to Timothy, some of his final written words, amazing. And sadly, there in his final
greeting to Timothy, he says this about the man Demas. Demas, having loved this present
world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. What was in
Thessalonica? Was it a girl? Nothing wrong
with marriage, but if this girl was gonna take him out of his
calling to ministry, that’s a problem. Was it some lucrative job offer?
Was it a position that would give him power and prestige?
We don’t know. It’s possible that when Paul
was writing to the Colossian church, that he could already
see cracks in Demas’s foundation of faith? A waning commitment
to the things of God, perhaps? Could he already see his inclination
toward the world and its allures? Perhaps, but rather, this is
so gracious of Paul, rather than rebuking him publicly, here in
Colossians 4 for things that he may well have already seen. He simply says nothing at all. Maybe that lack of commendation
would serve to motivate Mr. Demas to call him back from worldly
inclinations. We can’t be sure. The only thing
that we can be sure is that in time Demas did give in to the
allures of the world, whatever they were. He realized that he
loved the world and its things more than he loved Christ and
his church. What a tragedy. What a tragedy
that is all too common. How many countless thousands
of people are compromised and rendered ineffective for service
by their love of the world. We’re frequently confronted in
scripture by a caution against worldliness, worldly desires,
worldly thoughts, worldly attitudes, worldly speech. 1 John 2.15 summarizes
the New Testament concern. Do not love the world nor the
things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. Demas loved the world. Christ Church needs more people
who keep themselves from the love of the world. Seventh, and finally, Christ
Church needs more people who are willing to suffer, reconciled
with others, not afraid to follow Christ, sold out for the service
of Christ, serving according to their gifts and training,
keeping themselves from the love of the world, and number seven,
The church needs more people who exercise the gift of hospitality. Would you look at verse 15? Greet
the brethren who are in Laodicea and also Nympha and the church
that is in her house. The seventh and final example,
an individual named Nympha. The interesting thing about this
individual is that the name could conceivably be either male or
female. It’s difficult to determine which,
whether he’s referring to a man or a woman. The New American
Standard and the ESV decide for the latter. They call it her
house. The King James opts for the former,
calling it his house. And it really doesn’t matter.
What matters is what the person did. And what NMFA did was to
simply open his or her home to hosting a church. The churches in that day didn’t
have buildings. The church was a fledgling institution
with only pennies to rub together. Only a few of you would even
know this, but we started as a home church. And in the first century, not
when we started. In the first century, however,
there were no church buildings. Synagogues were typically hostile
to Christianity. And even though their building
wasn’t used on the Lord’s Day, Sunday, they would not have been
inclined to loan their building to a local Christian church plant. And so it was critical. It was
absolutely urgent that some generous individual would open their home
to the various activities of the church, Bible study, worship,
fellowship. And truly, hospitality is no
less critical in our day. Hospitality simply involves offering
that which the Lord has entrusted to us to the service of others, whether
it’s our homes, or our vehicles, or our money, brace yourselves
men, or our tools, brace yourselves students of the word, or our
books. God has entrusted these things to us for stewardship,
not stinginess. And in the case of this person,
Nympha, it wasn’t much. They just opened up their home,
put out the welcome mat, cleaned up when everybody left. That’s what these people do.
Someone exercising the gift of hospitality opens their home
to host at least a portion of the church as Nympha did in Laodicea. Christ’s church needs more people
like her or him. Christchurch needs people who
exercise the gift of hospitality. And so I’m wondering if any of
us might be the kind of people that could fill the needs of
Christchurch. People who are willing to suffer
for the Lord, no matter what. People who pursue reconciliation
with others, People who follow Christ regardless of whatever
social pressure. People who are sold out for the
service of Christ and his people. People who serve according to
their gifts and skills and training. People who keep themselves from
the love of the world. And people who exercise the gift
of hospitality. Those are some very, simple job
requirements, but they require the grace of God. Would you humble
yourself before him? Our gracious King, we thank you. And even as we come before you,
we might be thinking to ourselves, we have so little to offer you.
And so did some of these. Some of
them had virtually nothing to give, very few meager gifts to exercise,
and yet there was great faithfulness here with the people that are
represented. Notwithstanding Demas, and yet
even Demas for a season, was a faithful fellow worker. Lord,
grant us the grace that none of us go the way of Demas and
follow after the world instead of after Christ. But Lord, we pray that you would
help us to examine our own hearts with regard to these very needed
positions in the church. Lord, that you would take us
and steer us, stir our hearts to the service of Christ. Lord,
if there are any here who do not know the Lord Jesus, this
is not the means of salvation. Doing things will never earn
a person salvation. Salvation is granted by God only
by faith in what Jesus Christ has accomplished on the cross.
Faith alone in Christ alone. And only then, only as a saved
individual, believer in Christ, are we invited, even commanded,
to exercise our God-given gifts in serving Christ Church. Lord,
we thank you for this passage. As distant as it seemed that
we might get anything out of it, Lord, we thank you for nourishing
our souls. We pray these things in Jesus’
name, amen.