The Church of Eleven22 - S02E18 - Accept One Another, as Christ Accepted You

Episode Date: August 9, 2021

In a world that tries to tear us apart, the gospel informs us that just as Christ welcomed us, we are to welcome one another for the glory of God. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. - Romans 15:7

Welcome to deepen with Pastor Joby Martin. The Church of 1122 is a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. And we're praying this message helps you deepen your relationship with him. Now let's dive in. Howdy Church family? Welcome back to the Deepin podcast where we're going to just, again, take a deep dive into sections of the scripture that we've been studying in big church through the gospel of John. We're 18 weeks in. and also look at it through the lens of one of the one another's that we've been given in the New Testament.

59 times we are commanded to either love one another or bear one another's burdens or honor one another. The most commanded one is to love one another. Now, in Romans chapter 15, verse 7, we'll get to that context in just a little while. The Bible says that we are to welcome one another as Christ welcomed you. Some translations say, accept one another as Christ, accepted you. Again, the reason I want to look at it this week is because this past weekend, we looked at the two heart postures juxtaposed to one another

in how they responded to Jesus and what Jesus had done in them. In the first section, it was the back half of chapter 11, and it was a bunch of religious people. And they had this attitude of entitlement. They were not super interested in what God was doing in people's life or what God was doing for other people. All they were interested in is their way and what they wanted. And in order, and they were super threatened by Jesus, because Jesus was doing signs, and many people were following after Jesus.

And again, they didn't want God's way. They didn't want God's will. They wanted their way. They wanted their will. And anytime religious people begin to try to maintain status and convince, control, it means that they have to set up two categories of humans. There's the good and the bad, and we are always the good and they are always the bad. And there is judgment for you, but no one judges me, and that's what they're doing here. And in fact, in chapter 11, verse 47 and 48,

John shares with us this quote from the religious people, and it really shares this heart or this attitude of entitlement. It says, so the chief priest and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, what are we to do for this man performs many signs. They're talking about Jesus performing many signs. And if we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. And so from that moment on, then they began to plot, not just thinking about how they might kill him,

because they've already picked up rocks to stone him, and he pieced out on him one time. But now they were going to come up with this strategy or this scheme so that Jesus would be killed. You see, what religion always leads to is entitlement? What is he doing? Because everybody is following him. And if we follow him, what we have will be taken away from us.

In other words, because of our birth and because of our behavior, we are entitled to certain things. By the way, sound familiar? So that's the religious posture. The other posture that we see in the text is that of a relationship. Mary, she's going to show up. And she's coming off of the heels of her brother who has died, Jesus, coming alongside her, putting his arm around her, weeping with her, and then bringing her brother out of the grave,

Lazarus come forth. And so what she has, first of all, she has a relationship with him. The Bible says that she loves him and that he loves her. And what you see is she shows up on the same with this attitude of gratitude. She is so thankful for what he did. She is so thankful for who Jesus is that she comes in and she's got this expensive ointment and she breaks it and she anoints the feet of Jesus with this expensive ointment. Now, sometimes it's kind of debated amongst commentators.

Is Mary of Bethany in John chapter 12, the same woman, as the woman in Luke chapter 7. In Luke chapter 7, this sinful woman, which means she was a prostitute or an adulterer, it was sexual sin for sure. In Luke chapter 7, Jesus has had a Pharisee's dinner, and this prostitute, former prostitute, comes in, and she is so overwhelmed by Jesus's love and deliverance and forgiveness of her, that she cries on his feet and wets his feet with her. and the religious people say, if he knew who was touching him, he wouldn't let her.

Okay. I don't think it's the same person because in John chapter 12, it is Judas that is critical of Mary. And this is Mary of Bethany, brother of Lazarus, sister of Lazarus. And in John chapter 12, see, in Luke chapter 7, the religious people are rejecting that woman because of who she is. And in John chapter 12, Judas is critical of Mary because of what she is doing. but let me just tell you that religion leads us to always be hyper-critical

of people because of who they are and what they do. And so Judas looks at this act of worship because this is what it is, pure unadulterated worship. She breaks this jar, she pours it out on the feet of Jesus, anoints his feet. And Judas says,

what are you doing? we could have totally spent that money on something and been better stewards, that we could have fed poor people with that money. You see, what's happening here in these back-to-back events is that the religious are grasping for money and power and control, and Mary is pouring it out on the feet of Jesus. You see, the religious people look at other people as unacceptable. And Jesus is going to say, no, no, no, no, no.

I came to die for what you call unacceptable. And Jesus accepts the people that religion said is unacceptable. And Jesus accepts this act of worship as acceptable. Romans chapter 15, verse 7 says, therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed to you for the glory of God. So ask yourself this question. Were you, before you met Jesus, were you based on your birth and based on your behavior, were you acceptable or unacceptable before God? Well, if you've been

hanging out here at any length of time at all, you will know that we were unacceptable before God. That God is perfect. God is holy. God is just. And God is not just some kind of like cosmic sky fairy that just sprinkles love dust on everybody so that we'll all get along. No, no, no, no. God says, be holy for I am holy. We found out through the Gospel of John that the only way to be in the presence of God is that we must be perfect, that we must be righteous. And by nature and nurture, every single one of us are wretched, wretched, depraved sinners in front of a holy and just God, unacceptable before a holy and just God. And yet, what Jesus does is Jesus steps off of the throne of heaven.

He comes down to earth. He lives a perfect life. He dies in our place. And he makes us righteous. that he who was without sin became sin, that we would be made the righteousness of God. It's called the Great Exchange. We get his righteousness, he takes our sin.

He pays the sin debt. And instead of coming to judge, he says, I did not come to judge the world, but I came to save the world. And Jesus welcomes us into a face-to-face relationship with God because of what he did on the cross. And then because he has done that, that is how we are.

are supposed to treat people, especially, listen to this, especially people that we deem unacceptable, and especially people that are doing things that are unacceptable. Why? Because when we were doing things that were unacceptable, Jesus paid the price in full. Now, this does not mean that we coddle sin. No, that is not what we do, but we love every single person, and every single person is a sinner. So in Romans chapter 15, Paul says it this way. He says, we who are have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good. Yeah, but what if your neighbor's doing bad stuff?

Exactly. He says, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction that through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope, may the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another

in accord with Christ Jesus that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God. We live in a world right now that wants to tear us apart based on race, based on politics, based on what you think about vaccines and masks and whatever it may be.

And the gospel informs us that just as Christ welcomed us, we are to welcome one another for the glory of God. And then because some of us will feel like, yeah, yeah, yeah, but you don't understand. Times are different. People are divided. Well, if you think people are divided in our country, then you should have lived in Rome 2,000 years ago.

The division between Jews and Gentiles take what we have and multiply it by about 4,000 years, and then you get the kind of division they have. And yet, when the church was started, sitting on the same pew, they didn't have pews, but you know what I mean. Sitting on the same pew was slave and free, male, female, Greek, and Jew.

And Jesus says, no, no, no, no. When I show up, we are all going to. to welcome one another, just like I have welcomed you, and I welcomed every single one of you, no matter your race, no matter your socioeconomic status, no matter your political affiliation, I welcomed you into my family as a brother or a sister, as a son or a daughter of the most high king, and that is how you are to welcome one another. And so Paul goes on to say, for I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcise, to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promise given to the patriarchs

and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. And I'm telling you, the Jews in Rome would have looked at that and say, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. But the Gentiles, they are unacceptable people, and they do unacceptable things. And Paul would have said to them, just like you. Every single one of us were born unacceptable, doing unacceptable things,

and yet Jesus accepted us through his blood at the cross. Therefore, therefore, may we reject that attitude and posture of entitlement. That because of my religious beliefs, I am somehow better than you, and God owes it to me to accept me and to his family. May we reject that, because that is by definition self-righteousness, that by my own righteous deeds, I am declaring my self-righteous. That's what self-righteousness is. May we reject that kind of posture and attitude of entitlement, and may we adopt the attitude and posture that Mary has. That we continuously have this attitude of gratitude for who Jesus is, for what He has done in our life. And instead of being a people that want to control and hold on to and manipulate and judge, may we be a people that are just pouring out our gratitude onto the feet of Jesus Christ.

and because we have been accepted, even when we are unacceptable, may we welcome one another, may we accept one another, just as Christ has welcomed and accepted us. Let's pray. Our good and gracious Heavenly Father, Lord, we were built for such a time as this, that when our days get darker and darker and darker, the light of Jesus Christ shines brighter and brighter and brighter. And God, may your church, may this church be a place. place. When people come in contact with us, they would feel the way Mary felt when she came in contact with Jesus. Because to come in contact with your church should be to come in contact with the very spirit of your

son, to come in contact with the body of Christ here on this planet. And so that the power of the Holy Spirit, would you remind us that it's virtually impossible to look down our nose and any other people when we have our eyes fixed on you, the author and the perfector of our faith. So by your grace, Lord, I pray that we would welcome and accept one another, just as Christ has welcomed and accepted us. We prayed in Jesus' name.

Amen. Thank you for joining us for Deepen with Pastor Jobi Martin. If you're looking for additional resources to help you further deepen your relationship with Jesus Christ, visit C-O-E-22.com slash resources. We're praying this message you heard today helps you experience God in a unique and fresh way. And as always, be free.