Imagine that Christianity suddenly becomes illegal, and you are put on trial for your faith. Now these people who are trying you know that Christianity is not merely a personal religion, it is a relational faith. They know that if you truly love Jesus it will show in how you treat other people.
Now you are not allowed
speak in your defence. It is those who
know you best that are asked to present the evidence.
So, they go to your
workplace, and they ask a very perceptive question: ‘is your gentleness evident
to all’ (Phil. 4:5)? Then they go to
where you live and start asking your neighbours, ‘do you love them the way you
love yourself’ (Matthew 12:31)? Finally,
they call together your family circle, ‘do you put your religion into practice
by caring for your family’ (1 Tim. 5:4)?
After they have
interviewed these groups of people, is there enough evidence to prove that your
life has been transformed by the love of Jesus?
This morning I want to
plead with you. I want to plead with you
as we look at four sets of relationships—children to parents, fathers to
children, slaves to masters and masters to slaves. ‘Can we be consistent?’ Can we love people because we have
experienced Jesus’ love? Can we love all
people? Can we be as considerate to the
person behind the counter as we are to our boss? Can we please remember that while no one else
may know about our feelings towards other people, God sees everything?
1.
Children—obey your parents to show the world
that you love Jesus? (1-3)
Notice that in all four
relationships mentioned in these verses there is a reference to ‘the
Lord’. Children, you are to obey your
parents, ‘in the Lord’. You don’t just
obey them because you love them, you are to obey them because you love Jesus.
It is noteworthy that the
apostle Paul addresses children rather than just sons. It that society girls were not valued. They didn’t receive the same level of
instruction. However, Christianity
reminds the world that though there are self-evident differences between the
genders, there is equality in both our being created in God’s image and being
rescued in God’s son.
It is so important that
children obey their parents (both mother and father) that this command was
included among the Ten Commandments.
This is a command with a promise: ‘that it may go well with you and that
you may live long in the land.’
Of course, this is not an
absolute promise. There are faithful
children who die in tragic accidents. It
is a general promise. You see your
parents know what is best for you. They
don’t always get it right, but they do have more experience than you. When you were an infant they shouted ‘don’t
touch’ when you were about to put your hand on something hot. Now they may say ‘be careful not your friends
influence you towards harm.’ They may
teach you that it is important to work hard and serve others. Sometimes the most loving thing that they
will say to you is ‘no!’
2.
Fathers—do not provoke your children to
anger (4)
I prefer the translation
that speaks of provoking to anger than the lesser word exasperate. You might exasperate your children with how
weak your dad jokes are or how embarrassing your sense of fashion, but this is
more than that. This is literally acting
in a way that unnecessarily angers your children.
I think that it is
important for our culture that fathers are mentioned here. We live in a society that plays down the role
of fathers. Fathers and mothers have
unique and complimentary roles to play in the raising of children. Of course, there are many painful situations
where a parent has to raise their children on their own, but society should aim
at a situation where children are being raised by both a mother and a father.
The role of fathers is
particularly noted in the passing on of faith between the generations. I have a book at home called ‘The Faith of
the Fatherless’. In it the author looks
at how the faith of many atheists was shaped by absent, weak or harsh
father-figures. It also looms at how the
faith of many leading Christians was shaped by consistent and loving
father-figures.
Fathers, your life
influences what you children thing when they are told that God is our
Father. You are to bring them up in the
discipline and instruction of the Lord.
The family is a little church, and you have been given the
responsibility of lead pastor. You
biggest responsibility is to live and teach about how the cross of Jesus
affects everything.
But there is a danger of
exasperation or angering your children.
Bible commentator, Kent Hughes lists four ways that fathers commonly
anger their children: unreasonableness, fault-finding, neglect and
inconsistency. If you can be pleased
with what they do they will become disheartened. Sir Edmund Hillary conquered Mount Everest
but his son latter said that he would have much preferred to have a father that
was at home more. Sometimes because we
feel more competent at work than at home we are tempted to be more ambitious
for our work life that our home life.
You need to remember that when you say ‘yes’ to an extra work or church
commitment you may be saying ‘no’ to time with your children. Make sure that you have prayerfully thought
that through.
3.
Slaves—our loving master sees everything
(5-8)
When we hear about slaves
in the New Testament it is not helpful to imagine the African slave-trade of
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Slavery in the Roman world was far more humane. It was not based on race, or even social
class. Few died as slaves for they could
purchase their freedom. About a half of
slaves were freed before they were thirty.
A slave could be a manager or a doctor.
People ended up slaves by
birth, because their parents sold them into slavery, in order to pay off debts
or even to improve their lot in life.
This is not to say that slavery was not evil. The church had good news for slaves. They were to be treated as equals in the
church. The church did not have the
influence to end slavery in the Roman world, nor was that they most important
item on their agenda. However, the logic
of the gospel would eventually led to people like William Wilberforce and John
Newton toppling the slave trade in their time.
We should not be naïve
about our own culpability in the modern slave trade. The chocolate industry has long been associated
with slave labour. The fashion industry
with sweat shops. If you want to show
your concern about slavery then learn how to be an ethical consumer.
What the apostle Paul
says to slaves here could be our guiding principle for all workers. Who are we trying to please? Do we only work when our boss is watching us? Do we realise that being a good employee is
actually a form of worship to our God?
Notice that whether you are the master or slave, the employee or
employer, God will reward you for honest work.
That is so gracious of
God. He owes us nothing. He rescued us when we wanted nothing to do
with Him. He is the one who has given us
a heart that wants to please Him. We
serve Him imperfectly. Yet when we serve
him he delights to reward us for what we do.
There is a present joy in living for Jesus and an eternal reward that
awaits us. Jacob messaged me a number of
weeks ago to mention a text that was encouraging him. ‘God is not unjust so as to overlook your
work and the love that you have shown for serving the saints, as you still do’
(Heb. 6:10). Your employer may show
little interest in how you work and may never express appreciation to you. But your heavenly master sees it all!
4.
Masters—obey the golden rule
Masters, do the same to
them. The golden rule of Jesus is that
we are to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Well here the apostle Paul gives us the
managerial golden rule—you are to respect your employees the same way you
demand that they respect you.
We might not be the boss
of any company but every day people serve us.
There are the waiters and shop assistants. We might have authority over someone by being
their teacher or project manager. How do
you treat the sales person who calls to the door or rings on the phone? Jesus is watching! Is our gentleness evident to all in these
situations? Do we treat people with
respect? Are we sincere? If someone serving you found out that you are
a Christian, would your behaviour make Jesus attractive to them.
Remember that God shows
no favouritism. He is not influenced by
how high up the pecking order you are, and he is not put off because other people
think you are a nobody. I love the
Proverb that says, ‘whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their maker,
but those who are kind to the needy honour God’ (Prov. 14:31).
Conclusion
All that Jesus asks us to
do is to respond to His grace and be empower by the person of the Holy
Spirit. At the beginning of chapter four
we had a ‘therefore’. Given that God has
blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ we are to love a life worthy
of the calling we have received.
Jesus laid down His life for
us. He has forgiven our failings as
parents (and I know that we all feel inadequate for that task). He had forgiven our harsh words spoken to
many. He has forgiven the fact that we
are often people-pleasers rather than God-pleasers. Jesus died for these sins.
Jesus also models how we
are to live. He obeyed His heavenly
Father. He invites us to enjoy the
Father-heart of God (maybe you have a father-wound). He came not to be served but to serve and to
give his life as a ransom for many. He
is gentle and lowly of heart.
Finally, this letter
tells us that we have received the person of the Holy Spirit. I don’t have it within me to be a consistent
son, a selfless father, to do my job seeking to please God rather than people
and to treat those who serve me with respect.
But God calls us to go on being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the
dead lives in us. Give up depending on
your own strength. Humble
yourselves. Ask Him to change you in a
way that you cannot change yourself.
Then when they ask you family, neighbours and workmates, ‘was his
gentleness event to all?’ They will reply, ‘all the evidence showed His love
for Jesus!’
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