 Words and just a verse or two the wisdom of God that is just packed in there And this these verses are no exception verses one and two There's just so much there for us to learn from so much packed in and I pray that we'll be able to dive into some of that this morning We have a lot to take from this and I pray that you won't allow this instruction simply to pass in one ear out the other This is important Instruction that we need to take heed to if we want a healthy Biblical thriving fervent serving church that exalts Jesus Christ We need to take heed to what the Lord is telling us to do here We all have to learn how to handle Confrontation as we've been walking through this these two verses we began last week Looking at the heart that we need in this for obedience today We're gonna look at a heart for wisdom and how we are to go about this in wisdom from the Lord And then lastly we're gonna look at the heart that we're to have for our family And we get this from verses one and two here. We all need accountability We all need exhortation and we all need to be able to provide that for a brother or sister who needs help So we saw that last week in verse one with respect to a heart for obedience The Bible says do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him in that beginning of this verse We see two verbs two commands. These are commands here that we must obey one Do not rebuke epi plagues ace. Don't strike. Don't inflict with blows Don't verbally assault a sinning older brother, but you're to exhort him as a father the second command is but Exort and this is a command to every Christian that we are to exhort in the church The first command that we're looking at says don't be abusive with your leadership Don't be abusively authoritarian with your leadership And this is the second command here and this command is the one that's often tough You must resolve in your heart to obey the Lord in this command to exhort and you've got to follow through There's a command here to exhort. He says don't rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father So now how do you communicate as we review last week? How do you communicate? censure and correction without Respect or abuse of authority when you're dealing with an older man an older brother in sin you parka let oh him you Exort him you call him to your side. You make an appeal you urge you exhort you even Rebuke in the biblical sense of the word in that way that you Expose sin and then correct sin in a loving manner, but you call him to your side you plead you make an appeal This is the way that you are to respectfully Confront sin and an older man now Incidentally this like other things in the Christian walk This is one of those things that is an example of something that we're all Commanded to do, but then you also have those in the church that are specifically Gifted by God to do this. That's what it says in Romans chapter 12 verse 6 Paul says in Romans chapter 12 having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us let us use them if Prophecy let us prophesy in proportion to our faith or Ministry let us use it in our ministering he who teaches in teaching But he who exhorts in exhortation now think about that for a moment. The Lord specifically gifts Brothers and sisters in the church with a gift to exhort But now that doesn't let everyone else off the hook All right Ephesians 4 says that it's those who are gifted with that gift that are used that gift to Equip the saints for the work of the ministry So if you are gifted in exhortation Exort and then use your gift to equip others in that Exhortation then is a not only a command, but it's a skill that we have to cultivate It's a skill that we have to develop there are those in the church that are gifted to do it And so as you learn how to have those conversations as you learn how to do that tough thing sometimes Look to those brothers look to those sisters that are gifted and learn from them You know in in Ephesus here in 1st Timothy Timothy had a really tough assignment There were older men in the church that were teaching false doctrines They were leading people astray and so Timothy had to have many most likely many tough conversations but could he Escape that could he step back and say no no no Lord not me and allow somebody no Timothy had to obey the Lord But oftentimes that's a fearful thing to step out and do you must overcome your fear of man You must overcome as the Bible says don't fear their faces The way that you overcome your fear of man the way that you become faithful to the Lord in this is to merely step out and to begin Doing it and as you do it learn from those in the church that are gifted at doing that This is a skill that we have to cultivate in ourselves and this is a skill that's required that we implement all right secondly another incidental here incidentally we are to Exort in the church exhort one another faithfully more and more with a view of the imminent or Expected at any time return of Jesus Christ listen to what it says in Hebrews chapter 10 in verse 24 It says let us consider One another in order to stir up love and good works Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some but Exorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching now when these words were written 2,000 years ago They saw The return of Christ is being imminent. They saw an urgency to what was being written Fast-forward 2,000 years into our context. Has it gotten more urgent? Well. Yes, it has We're that much more closer to the imminent return of Christ. There's that much more urgency that much more Necessity for us to exhort one another and stir one another up to love and good works So much the more as the author of Hebrews says as you see the day approaching The imminent return of Jesus Christ should have is to have a Purifying and sanctifying influence on our lives We because of that aren't to grumble with one another aren't to be at odds with one another aren't to have conflicts with one Another listen to what James says in chapter 5 James says the coming of the Lord is at hand Do not grumble against one another brethren lest you be condemned Behold the judge is standing at the door And consider this that Christ's return is at hand. How should we be living our lives? And then how should we be inter relating with each other with one another in the church? How much more than important is this command that we should be exhorting one another? In all this for the purpose that brothers and sisters would persevere to the end and be saved We're facing difficult times So many pleasures so many leisure so many entertainment so many distractions For our own personal Christian walk much less the work that the Lord has given us to do And we can be swept away by the the current of this world as we see that day approaching We need to be exhorting one another more and more Listen to what it says in romans 13 beginning in verse 11 Paul says do this Knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep For now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed The night is far spent the day is at hand Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light Let us walk properly as in the day not in revelry or drunkenness not in lewdness and lust Not in strife and envy But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lust Paul writes to this church here in Ephesus In um This church he says awake you who sleep arise from the dead and christ will give you light See that you walk circumspectly not as fools, but as wise redeeming the time because the days are evil So what should inform our understanding of this exhortation to rebuke? To correct to exhort to encourage to plead to urge It is the fact that the day the day is fast coming when the Lord will return and will he find you sleeping You must exhort one another exhort one another wake one another up There is no time. There's no time here for apathy. There's no time for indifference There's no time for this Lethargy that has just swept through the church. I mean how many people do you run into? Sharing the gospel and you're out sharing the gospel. We don't run into anybody out sharing the gospel other than false teachers Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons Listen the time the days are short and the days are evil wake up We're to exhort one another to get to the work because the Lord is coming back And he's given us a work to do People are dying you understand the Lord Jesus Christ came first as the suffering servant But he will come back as the conquering king to execute judgment He comes back to execute judgment and we've got a great commission Too many christians today examine yourself in this too many christians today live their so-called christian life half asleep Is that you? Are you living your christian life in indifference in apathy? Are you living your christian life like some sleeping drug has come over you? Wake up and get about the work that the Lord has given us to do we need to obey him and be faithful to him in this People are dying and going to hell Are you like those foolish virgins that slept and slumbered while the bridegroom delayed his coming? There's a warning in that amen Jesus himself said in march chapter 13 watch Therefore for you do not know when the master of the house is coming in the evening at midnight At the crowing of the rooster or in the morning Lest coming suddenly he finds you sleeping and the testimony of scripture is that he's coming suddenly He is coming So this again back to heber is 10 Exhortation is to be practiced it is to be commanded But there is an urgency and an import to this command to exhort Because of the day of the Lord the day of the Lord is coming We're to faithfully exhort one another more and more and more as we see that day approaching Brothers and sisters we've got to be faithful in this As you see your brother your sister waxing and waning in apparent sleep and slumber We need to exhort one another wake up get to the business And do that with a right heart second point on your notes is that we're to have a heart for confrontation We're to have a heart to obey the Lord in this if you're in christ obey the Lord But lastly secondly we're to have a heart for wisdom in this point to a heart for wisdom Here paul says to timothy don't rebuke an older man But exhort him as and it gives here Instruction for the manner in which we're to exhort one another First it's important that you do it. We must exhort when we see sin When we see someone faltering when we see someone trailing away or withdrawing themselves Exort them But also secondly the manner in which you confront sin in the body of christ is important too It's important the way that you do it. It takes wisdom here. We're not to verbally beat someone down But we're to exhort and here it is as an older man as a father Younger men as brothers older women as mothers younger women as sisters with all purity In other words, it's not all zeal here with no tact We're to use tact. You can't be a bull in a china shop when you are going to exhort in the church This is not to be a tongue lashing. We're not to be abusive or authoritarian We're not to be lording it over them as the Gentiles do that we see in matthew 20, right? You must say What needs to be said you must deliver the hard truth, but you must wrap that in as much Context and care as you can the velvet covered brick is the analogy You deliver the hard truth you say you don't shy away from saying what needs to be said But you wrap that in as much love and care and concern as you can Here think for a moment About how you might approach a father for example and consider that in the light of scripture Exodus 20 gives us the command one of the 10 commandments that we are to honor our father and our mother But i'll think if you read your bible and you go beyond Exodus 20 You've got Exodus 21 which describes if a rebellious son or daughter repudiates a father or a mother That's a capital offense. They could be put to death for that So it's important that we honor our father So how would that inform your understanding of how you approach an older man in christ who's in sin? We're to respect them we're to exhort them as a father The word they're honor from exodus 20 is to put great weight upon great respect How might you demonstrate respect? Demonstrate honor demonstrate care and concern to an older man who is sinning That if you understand it that way right it's going to impact the way that you say it It's going to have an impact on the words that you choose to use It might even have an impact right if you're thoughtful about it might have an impact on your body language. It's not a Right it's it is It's an exhorting it should impact your body language should impact your facial expressions should impact the way the manner in which you say it It should impact the context in which you say it Now you're not to be in this exhortation this role here. You're not to be a pushover You've got to say that which needs to be said But it's the manner in which you say it that is also important. It's to be done with respect to be done with Wisdom timothy had some hard things to say some tough things to say But he had to use wisdom in how he did that Now this also this exhortation and this manner in which we're to exhort also applies to younger women To older women and the younger men We should be wise in every situation in which we enter into exhortation with a sinning brother or sister We've got to use wisdom and here in chapter 5 verses 1 and 2. There's a lot of rich relational wisdom from paul here Otherwise as james says if you're not careful if you don't Think through with wisdom how you're going to use your tongue you can start forest fires Listen to what james says in chapter 3 The tongue is an unruly evil full of deadly poison with it We bless our god and father and with it we curse men who have been made in the similitude of god Now we've got to be careful when we exhort that we exhort with wisdom that we use Our words carefully and that we respect an older man an older woman that we respect our younger brothers our younger sisters Right here though in verse 1 it begins that older men are to be exhorted as a father In other words as a father you're not to exhort from a position of superiority He's an older man you're to exhort him as a father There is a natural humility And a healthy fear in the way that you should address and respect your father That same humility that same healthy fear should be there in exhorting an older man Some people have a tendency right to to forget themselves And they can come across very haughty Very pointed very disrespectfully when they go to address an older man And usually that's the fruit of pride It's the fruit of an immature younger man Who's not using wisdom in how he speaks to an older man But be warned from this proverbs chapter 30 verse 17 says this the eye That mocks his father And scorns obedience to his mother the ravens of the valley will pick it out and the young eagles will eat it Be careful young men and how you address an older man Approach this older man is one example we see in scripture from daniel and daniel chapter 4 When daniel and addressing king nebuchadnezzar He's addressing a man of position a man of authority and so he addresses him with respect. Listen to how daniel addresses him Oh king now he's about to rebuke the king for his sin Oh king. He says let my advice be acceptable to you Break off your sins by being righteous and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity. You're let my advice be acceptable to you It's just a humble way of addressing someone in authority here And we have to take practical examples from this in the way that we do the same thing We're all going to need accountability. We're all going to need exhortation The older man the younger man the older woman the younger woman. We all need it how you do it is important Jim, you know jim, maybe twice your age, right? I need to talk to you brother Can can we just step into another room and talk for a moment? You go in the room with jim jim I have such a great love for you brother. I'm so grateful for you um Looked at your example in the church and just grateful that you're here and grateful for the example that you provided And I've learned so much from you There's just been a joy getting to know you a jim brother I there's something that's been grieving my heart and I really need to talk to you It's something I feel pressed to talk to you about And I pray jim that you'll accept this in the spirit With which it is intended and the love that I have for you But here's what we need to talk about and you talk is that a respectful way to address an older man It's just out of love and care and concern Not a jim By now as old as you are you ought to know better But here I got you know No, we got to be respectful the way that we talk with one another Um, we see examples of this in scripture with the way that paul interrelates with other people in the church Let me give you an example of that go to ax chapter 22 ax chapter 22 Let's just look at some wisdom from paul in the way that paul has done this ax chapter 22 And look beginning at verse one now. This is an individual here paul Is about to address a mob? Of angry people who would just as soon carry him out and kill him As look at him And so how did paul address this mob ax chapter 22 look at verse one First he says brethren and fathers It's very respectful right bread calling them brothers brethren and fathers Hear my defense before you now And when they heard that he spoke to them in the hebrew language They kept all the more silent. So don't think about it for a moment He addressed them as brethren addressed them as fathers and then addressed them in hebrew as a sign of respect and great love for them And a sign of respect for their heritage together It's just a respectful way of addressing this mob that just as soon would have taken him out and stoned him to death He said what needed to be said, but he did it respectfully there is a limit to that They still wanted to take paul out and kill him So he's gonna say what needed to be said, but he did it in a respectful manner Flip the page and look at ax chapter 23 ax chapter 23 And look beginning in verse one here ax chapter 23 verse one Now again, you have here the the position of the high priest and the position of the high priest was worthy of respect paul is saying to timothy in first Timothy chapter five that the position of an older man Is worthy of respect and so make the application here ax 23 verse one Then paul looking earnestly at the council said men and brethren I have lived in all good conscience before god until this day And the high priest ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth Then paul said to him god will strike you you whitewashed wall At first, you know paul, you know gets away from himself there But then he's told who ananias is he says for you sit and judge me according to the law And do you command me to be struck contrary to the law Those who stood by said do you revile god's high priest? Then paul said verse five and this is you gotta understand These are not righteous men these were wicked Pharisees And commanded in contrary to the law to strike paul So could paul have been justified in what he said was certainly But there is an element here that paul wants to respond to this person in authority with respect with deference Respectfully verse five paul said i did not know brethren that he was the high priest for it is written You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people Here he wants to address the high priest with respect. It's also fulfilling a commandment obeying a command of the lord here Where to do the same flip the page again and look at acts chapter 26 acts chapter 26 Here beginning in verse one we have paul addressing king agrippa and here he could have addressed king agrippa is this wicked king With no respect whatsoever. He's a wicked king But listen to how paul addresses him chapter 26 verse one Then agrippa said to paul you are permitted to speak for yourself So paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself I think myself happy king agrippa Because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which i am accused by the jews Especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the jews Therefore, I beg you to hear me patiently just a very respectful way to address someone in authority, right? So paul is going to give his testimony, but he addresses king agrippa with respect flip over to galatians chapter two This is the passage that many of us are familiar with galatians chapter two Now here paul is addressing peter and paul is going to have to address his sinning brother But he does so with respect and deference look at galatians chapter two and look at verse 11 You know when peter had come to anioc the bible says I withstood him paul says to his face now many of you young guys might think to yourself Well, that's that's all bravado. He got up nose to nose. He had his right bicep flex He's about to unload Well, that's not that's not Face to face here with stood him face to face means that he handled it man to man We're exhorted in scripture Matthew 18 church discipline you're to go to your brother alone and deal with him you're to face him face to face You're not to whisper behind his back You're not to slander you're not to gossip You're not to tail bear your offense to someone else You're to go to him man to man. Here's what paul did. He went to him. This is an act of respect for your brother You go to him man to man and you work this out So he withstood him to his face because he was to be blamed. He was in sin For before certain men came from james. He would eat with the Gentiles But when they came he withdrew and separated himself Fearing those who were of the circumcision and the rest of the jews also played the hypocrite with him So that even barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to peter you wicked sinner No, it's not what he said to peter He said to peter before them all He asked them a question and again to elicit the right understanding. It wasn't disrespectful It was very respectful. It was loving toward his brother He was drawing peter in to his exhortation in order that peter might come to this conclusion on his own Just a very respectful way of handling this brother. He says if you being a jew live in the manner of Gentiles and not as jews Why do you compel Gentiles to live as jews? We who are jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law But by faith in jesus christ Even we have believed in jesus christ that we might be justified by faith in christ and not by the works of the law For by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified and he goes on with his questioning of of peter But a very respectful manner in which in the way that he addressed him. Okay, we've got to learn from this Beck and first timothy chapter five These positions if you will warranted respect Well, what the lord is saying to us through first timothy chapter five is that we are to Respect one another in the way that we exhort older men worthy of respect Younger men also younger women also older women worthy of respect We must demonstrate deference respect love care concern in the way that we exhort one another It's to be done as paul says in glacial six in a spirit of gentleness. We're to love one another in this But too he says here Not only are older men to be exhorted as a father, but he says here that younger men are to be exhorted as Brothers and again having the right heart here for confrontation. We need to exhort our younger brothers in a similar way now Notice here that it does not say to treat younger men like sons all right It says here to treat them as brothers In other words not inferior to us. You don't treat a young man as inferior, but you treat them as equals You don't look down on them. You treat them as equals. You show loving respect This is the christian understanding of the brotherhood of believers Whether you're a brother fresh out of the oven Say five minutes or you're a brother an older brother It's been in the faith a long time and you're twice as age you treat them as equals you show loving respect This speaks to our unity in christ There is no hierarchy in that sense. We are all one body one brotherhood one sisterhood in christ It removes any air of superiority or any air of hierarchy This command going to timothy now also means that these people in emphasis are not his sheep They are the lord's sheep and they are timothy's brothers And timothy is to interact with them as brothers Seeing them this way Does not mean that you don't confront No, it's just a younger brother. No, you must confront them in their sin. You must exhort Matthew 18 verse 15 says this Moreover if your brother sins against you go and tell him his fault between you and him alone That word there go in that verse is a present active imperative It's a command if your brother sins against you you're commanded to go to him Tell him his fault when your brother back Often write the worldly way to handle this the worldly way the way that most people in the world handle confrontation is to avoid it They don't have anything to do with that and they will avoid it at all costs They will even avoid confrontation in their own family They won't confront one another or deal with one another's sins or deal with division or discord in the family Much less with anyone else And yet here we have this command from the lord to do this person to person All right, listen to what it says in second Thessalonians 3 beginning in verse 13 Here paul says but as for you brethren Do not grow weary in doing good. We need to do this and we need to do this faithful faithfully Don't grow weary in this and if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle Note that person do not keep company with him that he may be ashamed Yet do not count him as an enemy It says but admonish him as a brother that word for admonish Present active imperative. It's another command. This is something that we are to do Wow, this is to be a way of life in the church and speaking of this It rises out of an understanding in the old testament for how old testament israelites were to interact and interrelate with their brothers Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 17 says this Leviticus says you shall not hate your brother in your heart You shall surely rebuke your neighbor and not bear sin because of him This is necessary. Now notice there leviticus 19 that it says you shall not hate What we get from that is this It is loving To exhort a brother and sin. It's the loving thing to do. It is unloving. It is hateful not to What does the bible say about exhorting or rebuking or correcting your kids you discipline your kids? You love them if you spare the rod you spoil the child if you don't discipline you hate your kids We're to discipline out of love. We're to discipline because we love There's a great example of this in the proverbs flip with me to proverbs chapter 27 Proverbs chapter 27 And again, we've got to remember this is necessary in the body and necessary for many reasons which we'll discuss We must Do this we must have the culture of this in our church proverbs chapter 27 And look beginning in verse five verse five Listen to this wisdom proverbs 27 verse five Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed Faithful are the wounds of a friend But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful right now think about this for a moment The words they're carefully concealed literally means Drawn up or withdrawn closed up or withdrawn. Okay In other words Is an evidence of love Failing to rebuke shows a withdrawn or a concealed or a closed up love We must be faithful if we love our brother to rebuke when necessary The word for friend faithful are the wounds of a friend that word for friend there literally means one who loves Faithful are the wounds of one who loves But it goes on the kisses of an enemy that word for enemy there is literally one who hates But it says the kisses of one who hates are deceitful Okay, therefore a an enemy May seem like a true friend because of the deceitful kisses that he gives or the deceitful gestures He may approach you as a friend, but he's not willing to rebuke. He's not a friend He doesn't love you in that way Here the true friend is the one who is willing to wound For our good because we need it We all need accountability. We all need exhortation We need a loving brother a loving sister to come by call us to their side and say come on brother right You want the your friend somebody you know to tell you you've got something in your nose before you right Hey, buddy your fly's down. I mean that's a good thing to hear from a for a brother We need exhortation. We need help. We need the loving brother to come alongside and exhort us We're commanded to do it a friend if a person Genuinely loves his brother He will not fear to exhort his brother or rebuke his brother correct his brother When that time is necessary Now men young men, let me give you a warning in this although older men May treat you as equals And we are to treat older men as a father with respect And that is very helpful for you younger men in your maturing and as you grow in christ You should not think of yourself as equals Even though older men may treat you as brothers may treat you as equals Don't necessarily think of yourself the same way you're to respond to an older man as a father Okay, treat older men as fathers. Don't think more highly of yourselves than you ought Often this is a fruit of a young man's pride and it is a young man's disease. Do they think of themselves that way? You need to be humble around older men in the faith Um, don't think of yourselves too highly more highly than you ought It's also an interesting footnote here that although paul Exorts here for us to treat older men as a father Exort younger men as a brother That he often in scripture will call young men's sons or children called believers children and that in scripture is always a Show of affection. It's a sign of affection my beloved son Timothy my dear son in the faith timothy That's just a sign of affection Paul says here that we're to exhort younger men as brothers He goes on to say in verse one that we're to exhort older women as mothers and again like older men This is rich with respect and deference timothy had a wonderful mother who from his youth Taught him the scriptures which were able to make him wise to salvation But think about your mother Maybe you didn't have the best mother in the world But think about the way that an older mature nurturing godly loving mother Should be exhorted think about that way that you should appeal to or urge An older woman were to do that as a mother. We have an example of this in scripture as well in the church at filipi There were two women in the church that were being divisive And so paul Exorts a couple of brothers to listen go and deal with these two older ladies in the church It was written in an open letter to the church at filipi So paul is dealing with these two divisive ladies in the church at filipi in an open letter Listen to how he dealt with them. Listen to philippines chapter four beginning in verse one Where paul says therefore my beloved and long for brethren my joy and crown So stand fast in the lord beloved I implore he says i urge i'm begging you You idea and i implore sentiki to be of the same mind in the lord I urge you you wicked ladies. No I urge you also true companion help these women and not just help them He addresses them as a you know as he would his own mother Exorting them to be of the same mind listen get this divisive problem fixed here But then he goes on who labored with me in the gospel They're co-labors with paul in the gospel recognizes them as sisters very respectful He says with clement also and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life This is a loving way to confront an older woman older lady in the lord But also he goes on to say in first Timothy chapter five that we're to exhort younger women as sisters Same amount of respect same amount of equality as younger men Not as inferior not as daughters per se you're not to look down on them But as sisters However here back in first Timothy chapter five This exhortation in verse two is laden laden down loaded up with additional significance Because of the additional and very important very significant words with all purity Purity there means agnea in the greek. It's sexual chastity Sexual purity, but it also conveys innocence. It conveys an integrity of heart An integrity of mind purity in thoughts and in actions And it's not just purity here. It's all purity. There's a a comprehensive scope To this command here All increases the urgency with which we are to exhort the importance and necessity of our exhortation We're to exhort here with all purity But there's a warning here We cannot you are not to play games With the purity of god's daughter You're not to play games. You're not to play games with the purity of most likely someone else's future wife You are to exhort as sisters, but you're to treat them with all purity You're to treat younger women in the church with as much sexual or lustful indifference As you would your own physical flesh and blood sister That's the way you're to view other sisters in the church The church is no place for adultery church is no place for fornication. That's tantamount in this context tantamount to incest And you're to view it that way So check your heart men We are to view our sister with as much Lustful indifference as we would our own flesh and blood sister. You know what i'm saying? That's the way that we're to show respect to our sisters here Think about it for a moment How much drama? How much sin? How much bitter fruit would be avoided averted in the church in the pulpit? If men would be serious about that warning How much sin could be avoided? How many pastors wouldn't have fallen? How much sin lying deceit adultery fornication would be avoided in the pews if men would obey that warning Listen to first Cessilonians chapter 4 And here paul says in verse 3 This is the will of god for you Your sanctification That you should abstain from sexual immorality That each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and in honor Not in passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know god That no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this manner Because the lord is the avenger of all such as we also forewarned you and testified For god did not call us to uncleanness But in holiness Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but god who has also given us his holy spirit So what do you do? What kinds of safeguards Or guidelines Are implicit in paul's command here. How do you to think about this? How are we to relate to younger women as sisters one? You don't spend time behind closed doors With women in private with someone who's not your wife You keep the doors wide open The window shades open Brothers around If you're courting It's you're to interact interrelate with your sister with all purity You don't put her purity or even the appearance of her purity at risk by spending time alone behind closed doors With her in private You don't give looks Right. You don't give flattery You don't give Huggy consolation when she's not feeling well It's you avoid the touch those things that in other words if her purity is your highest consideration Then she's going to be indifferent to you in terms of lust Indifferent to you in terms of that. Do not desire her in your heart. She is to be honored She is to be respected as god's daughter and as someone else's future wife If she's going to be your wife and there's a time for that it's called engagement and marriage Um, there's such wisdom from the word of god in these just these simple words It is Absolutely necessary here to have this heart for confrontation in the lord's body Such that we can keep his body pure To be faithful to him in these things. We're out of a heart for confrontation. Let me leave this point with this First Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 14. Paul says now we exhort you brethren Warn those who are unruly Comfort the faint hearted Uphold the weak be patient with all A point three on your notes We're to have a heart for obedience to the lord We're to have a heart to do this in wisdom with wisdom from the lord Thirdly we exhort you all brethren all of you Warn those who are unruly comfort the faint hearted uphold the weak be patient with all Goes on to say in verse 15 see that no one renders evil for evil to anyone But always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all A point three on your notes In wisdom with wisdom from the lord thirdly we're to have a heart for our family here Notice the words that the The holy spirit specifically and purposefully uses where to exhort the older man as a father Younger men as brothers older women as mothers younger women as sisters With all purity and scripture often paints just a beautiful picture of our family in scripture Believers being in the family of god together in our spiritual family here is the context Which informs the our understanding and the importance of our exhortation the necessity for us to confront in the church We must certainly confront sin in our physical families. We also have to do that in the family of god This has profound implications Ephesians chapter three Beginning in verse 14 says this for this reason I bow my knees to the father of our lord jesus christ god related to as father From whom the whole family in heaven believers called family there in heaven and earth is named God says in second quinthians chapter six verse 18 I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters says the lord almighty again a picture of family In matthew chapter 12 beginning in verse 49 Jesus says this while he was talking to the multitudes Behold his mothers and brothers his mother and brothers stood outside seeking to speak with him Then one said to him look your mother and your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak with you But he answered and said to the one who told him Who is my mother and who are my brothers and he stretched out his hand toward his disciples and said Here are my mother and my brothers for whoever does the will of my father in heaven Is my brother and sister and mother We have a family when you come to christ You are coming to the family of god You're adopted into his family and he sees you and interrelates with you based on that metaphor We are brothers and sisters. We have god who is our father It says of jesus christ that he's not ashamed to call us brothers Because we're tempted in the same way. We are brothers and sisters in christ This is I think it's for several reasons in the church for several reasons one When many people in this day and age came to christ they lost everybody They lost their family. They were disowned Disinherited they lost their jobs. They lost fiance's they lost everything And jesus says himself in mark chapter 10 verse 29 as surely I say to you There is no one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands For my sake and the gospels who shall not receive a hundred fold now in this time Houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life We find our family identity in the family of god We find our family identity in christ But also here for another reason There's such a care and concern in this for the peace and unity and purity of the church This time at this time you had Gentiles pouring into the church by faith in christ And there was a real Potential problem that would have created two churches the jewish people at this time were so racist They would not have considered Gentiles or Samaritans as brothers and sisters in the faith So by using this language it promotes Unity and peace in the body of christ paul says in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 19 He says now therefore to Gentiles you are no longer strangers and foreigners But you're fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of god We're not the black sheep of the family. We're a part of the family We're to be part of the family seed the spiritual seed of abraham But another reason is that we should love one another and care for one another as we would our own physical family That's the reason behind the exhortation. We're to love and care for one another The metaphor of family here these words that are used should impose upon us The importance and the necessity of our exhortation of our brothers We must doggedly labor to maintain peace and unity must doggedly labor on behalf of our brother on behalf of our sister That they might persevere to the end and be saved. This is the household of god Everyone who repents everyone who turns from sin everyone who puts their faith and trust in christ alone to save them Is a member of god's family is adopted into that family um in that sense The christians family is the body of christ that takes precedence In that sense the cornerstone of baddest church is just not Like my family. It's this is my family We are brothers and sisters together and we have a responsibility in that to Exort one another that we might all persevere to the end and be saved philip gram reichen said this He said blood may well be thicker than water, but the spirit is thicker than blood That is true So just like an orderly and loving family each person is treated or should be treated with love with warmth with respect with gentleness Not abusive not authoritarian Not lording it over them In that same sense, there must be accountability. There must be a confrontation of sin And this is completely lost in most churches today completely lost in anonymity rules People don't want to get into one another's lives. They remain isolated proverbs 18 says the one who isolates himself seeks his own desire Were to be in one another's lives We cannot be the kind of family That doesn't love to the degree that we will confront our brother or sister when they need it We must be doing that We're to enter into one another's lives and apply the gospel We're to love in that way think about it this way What kind of care or concern would you begin to demonstrate in your own family? If your son if your daughter if your wife began withdrawing herself himself from the family, what would you do? That's your physical family There's a necessity for that in god's family and that's the reason the basis on which we get this exhortation If you're in a church like that that doesn't practice this at all You could leave be missing for months and no one would call you Not even concerned that you're gone. You know you may come back someone You know that's missing from that church for three months comes back to the church and someone thinks to themselves to say Hey Deacon bob Where have you been? And deacon bob answers from going to and fro on the earth and walking back and forth on it You know that that's a descriptor Um No one cares. There's no confrontation. There's no getting into one another's lives. There's no accountability. There's no exhortation There must be loving accountability and loving exhortation among our family Now the bottom line is you need accountability. I need accountability. You need to be asked how you're doing I need to be asked that question We must hold one other accountable. It protects our peace our unity our purity This is wisdom from god for the church. We love our family. We're gonna do this This is how we're to conduct ourselves in the household of god. It's a purpose for paul's writing to timothy now to add to this Aside from a very popular notion Believe it or not. We are not all children of god We're not all in the family of god. That is unbiblical to say that some Are outside of christ and they're of their father the devil That's what scripture clearly teaches. It's such a sad grieving memory for me But attending a false church a long time ago and Just having been newly saved lord It just saved me and coming to grips with what scripture teaches I just remember sitting in the church and thinking about the church and the way the church is to be and i'm know people and Got people that are committing adultery people in fornication people lying and hating gossiping Causing division causing discord and then to sit there in church and listen to a song That was often saying heard it many many times in that church. I am a friend of god I'm a friend of god And so you are living in your sin In open rebellion against god in your fornication in your adultery and you're lying and you're gossiping and you're cheating and your sin Singing on a sunday morning in praise and worship. I am a friend of god That's not a friend of god that is an enemy of god by their wicked works In order to be a friend of god in order to be in the family of god You must turn from your sin and put your faith and trust in christ alone to save you You must turn from living for yourself Here's an exhortation for you if you're in your sin If you've not submitted yourself to the lordship of jesus christ If you've not put your faith hope trust reliance in christ alone Then you are an enemy of god by your wicked works You are still of your father the devil and you will one day stand before him in judgment and find yourself in hell Turn from your sin Turn from living for yourself and turn to christ Christ will forgive you. He'll cleanse you. He'll pardon you. He'll wash you He'll put you in his own family and make you a brother Make you a sister Put around you loving brothers and sisters who will care about whether you go to hell or not Will care about whether you're drifting into sin or not and will love you enough to come and talk to you about it Apart from that You know a lot of people that you go to You try to exhort them in that way and they gnash at you with your their teeth. Let me see that in scripture Others receive it Receive the exhortation The lord jesus christ the perfect spotless lamb of god died to save you from the power of sin Died to save you from the penalty of sin died to save you from the wrath of god If you will put your faith in him He'll give you a new heart He'll give you a spirit that cause you to live the christian life If you'll turn from your sin and live for him If you're here today and you're a christian Let me conclude by saying this as much as you are commanded in scripture And we are it's Many places in scripture you're commanded to exhort your brother. You're commanded to exhort your sister As much as we're commanded to do that. We also have to be humble in receiving it Receive exhortation well Prepare your heart use wisdom think about it in the sense in the context in which it's in in the context of our family And receive it as a loving humble brother or sister should receive it With love with humility not with evil suspicion Not with being too sensitive or too defensive receive exhortation well Reminded of glations for as your brother become your enemy because he tells you the truth No, that is a friend who is faithful not Afraid or ashamed to wound you when necessary to help you We must persevere to the end and be saved. I think this passage sums it up well Listen to this from colossians chapter 3 beginning in verse 12 Therefore as the elect of god Holy and beloved put on tender mercies kindness humility meekness long suffering Bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another Even as christ forgave you so you also must do But above all these things put on love Which is the bond of perfection and let the peace of god rule in your hearts to which also you were called in one body And be thankful let the word of christ dwell in you richly and all wisdom Teaching and admonishing one another in songs and hymns Spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the lord And whatever you do in word or deed do all in the name of the lord jesus Giving thanks to god the father through him. Let's pray Father in heaven. Thank you for this simple clear Command that is so profound god and carries so much weight For the body of christ and grateful to you for it god help us to Apply this wisdom to our hearts and live by it. Help us to be faithful in this um Lord we're told in scripture We must persevere to the end to be saved and so god i need my brothers and sisters I know they need me and Lord find us faithful to live in this way that when one Trails or one becomes lethargic or one falls asleep God that we would go to them in love and a spirit of gentleness and return and airing brother from the airing of his way Such that god when they stand before you they'll do so with joy We praise you and worship you in this god and and ask for your help knowing that none of this is possible in our own effort None of this is possible in our own strength We rely and depend on you rely depend on you spirit of god to help us in this And we pray god that when you return you'll find us faithful in these things not sleeping Faithfully doing the work that you've given us to do For our own good for the good of the saints But also god for your glory and for your everlasting praise and worship in jesus name amen