Stewards of Grace

Drape on Renewing Your Mind. Early Christians would be persecuted by the Jews that would often lose businesses that they had people diffuse into business with them, and so on and so immediately there was a sense of need and in the fledgling community. That's barely able to walk. They held everything in common tells the church in Galatia that they are to use the things God has given them for others. Of course, that included physical goods, money and food were shared liberally in the early church but was much more than that today of Renewing Your Mind. We join Dr. Derek Thomas in the sixth chapter of Galatians as he looks at the ways we are to be stewards of God's grace. Session 13 and where in the penultimate study on Galatians and just focus on chapter 6 verses six through 10, taking a little smaller chunk than we have in some of the previous sessions on this one is about sowing and reaping, and it begins let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches this is a tax that one might use for stewardship season one divorce from stewardship season difficult. Every minister has to do a stewardship sermon sometimes a series of sermons usually in the fall, talking about budget tree issues and that sort of slightly awkward for the minister. I think to be doing that in this particular versus somewhat awkward. Let's see if we can see why it is that Paul is putting it here.

He's been saying throughout this epistle to the Galatians the justification by faith is apart from the works of the law.

That's not by obedience, it's not by compliance on our part but now in the second half. Or maybe this the last quarter of this epistle, Paul is conflicted over and said that those who are justified busy in their busy doing things their busy obeying Jesus is commands for them.

If you love me, keep my commandments later died of gospel motivations, not in order to be justified, but because they are justified and because there at peace with God and not a sheer he's been talking in the first part of chapter 6 about relationships with in the body and what that looks like an those who have fallen, and the you can behave in two different ways you can kick him my knees down and make much of his transgression. Or you can go in with a spirit of gentleness and restore that person we saw in our last lesson power.

Although these up the practical things that Paul is talking about there actually gospel issues and the way you respond in a situation will reflect your understanding of the gospel. So here is applying it in terms of stewardship stewardship in the general sense the stewardship of goods to begin with. He says so that the one who is taught of the word share. All good things with the one who teaches send you can imagine this is a fledgling church, or perhaps a series of churches in the region of Galatia. Do they have a full-time minister, probably not in the sense that we would think of that today and but for the churches to grow. Someone had to come in and teach and perhaps they didn't stay that long, and there were peripatetic and they were moving around from allegation to congregation before it's probably 20 or €30 in the future of before. Some of these churches will have the structure of that we would recognize and, later, 20 years on Paul will talk about ordaining deacons and elders and so on. But those in full-time ministry needs to eat and they need to provide for their families and therefore in the context of the early church. This responsibility now that falls upon these congregations to take care to the success here to share all good things with the one who teaches the word share is 73 common words in the New Testament coming near and it means to have in common will to hold in common. It's an interesting question and asked to annex for your member the ability Christian community. Just as it were emerging from the shell at Pentecost and they held everything in common. We read that Ananias and Sophia and the consequences of that attendance a shocking story always shocks me that Ananias and Sapphire story this is and communism of the I think this was expediency. The early Christians would be persecuted by the Jews. They would often lose businesses that they had people diffuse to do business with them, and so on and so immediately there was a sense of need and in the fledgling community.

That's barely able to walk. They held everything in common and this still all of the rights of private ownership is still there. It's not communism sought for students not to big federal government telling others how to spend the money is not that this was an agreement that they made among themselves, but it's also interesting that it disappears son as the church grows upholding all things in common seems to be just part of that early process where the church is just beginning to learn to walk.

All good things with other good things money. Perhaps this probably food.

Perhaps yes probably lodgings for visiting preachers who would come in for a season and speak to them. In brief, we think that that did take place in the early church, and that the early churches ministers as we would call them what peripatetic and that they moved from one location to another. The joy of giving the joy of sharing the responsibility of everyone, each to give according to their means, send ability not just the wealthy and Paul C6 this some stewardship of goods. He sees it as a mall of discipleship sees it as a consequence of the gospel sees it as a way of demonstrating we have received all good things in the gospel and therefore we respond by sharing good things responsibly and serve with prudence and with oversight and so on. But to the stewardship of goods and then the stewardship of the body goes on. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever one sows that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life introduces a principal it's not a universal principle. You reap what you sow.

There are times when that is not true. The man born blind in John chapter 9. The Jesus heals. Remember the question. The disciples asked her who sinned, was it him or was it his parents because they're applying the principle you report to, so, and if he is inflicted with the disease. He must have stolen something that must be punishment must be retribution on God's part.

So who sinned, was a tumor was it his parents and Jesus said neither is not denying that the man wasn't guilty of original sin is not denying that the man is guilty of actual sin, but it has no bearing on his blindness. And Jesus says so your member so that the works of God might be made manifest in him and his healing is a blessing to us as we read the story we see something of the majesty of the glory of Jesus in the healing of this not the same is true in the book of Job, Ella fasting of Job has these two series of days when he loses his 10 children loses sis well from Houston everything is good and then in the second section loses his health and then three friends coming.

The best thing that ever did was to be quiet for a week and then they start to talk and everything goes downhill and elephantiasis is probably the oldest of the three is the first one to talk and he immediately brings that principles you report to, so under the reason for Job sickness and the reason for Job's trial is because he's reaping what he has stolen his song to the flesh, and he's reaping its reward in punishment. So this principle is not a universal principle. You reap what you sow. We teach our children that there are consequences to certain actions to retell enough to run across the road and then we take them understand them by the side the road and the car goes by and see if you run across the road. The cause can hit you in November. Consequences telling of this because I love you and I don't want you to be hurt so you report to, so if you constantly lie that are consequences and you will turn out to be someone whom people don't like and you'll never have friends and you never be able to keep relationships that are consequences to report to. So so the way we think about stuff integrally relates to the way we think about ourselves.

Where do we find our contentment and if we find our contentment in ourselves will be always protecting ourselves and will become selfish and mean spirited.

You reap what you sow is a wonderful story.

I don't know where I got it from the inventor of radar was a man called what WITT he invented radar under one day he was stopped by the police and the speeding I need to send to the policeman you know I was the one who invented the machine thinking that this would get them often. The policeman just shook his head and congratulated him it's been wonderful for us and defined him to the ticket he reaped what she had sown so to the flesh, sinful desires so that more pullets reap under total reap sentence will reap corruption and flow rate distortion of who you are in Christ are to affect your relationships with those who are close to an digital turn you into something else and to cover it up you will begin course of life that is full of lies and treachery. David and Bathsheba is the model story to reflect sewing to the flesh and reaping corruption if you so pornography or to reap and what you will reap person distorted view of sex distorted view of women, men, distorted view of humanity distorted view of the gospel distorted view of Jesus and Glendon divorce ruin and worse. If you sow ambition to get on no matter what. To get to the top and the mother wanted takes no matter what corners you have to cut no matter who you have to offend in the process you just want to succeed you want to get to the top you want a certain lifestyle you want to certain income and what will it costs what will you reap and you may get those goods in the process.

There are people fallen bodies in the trail of history behind you. We are stewards and we are stewards of our bodies we are's stewards of who we are and that's been Paul's narrative hasn't throughout the whole of Galatians understand who you are as a man or woman in Christ somebody who's been crucified with Christ. The old Adam is gone. You are a new creation. Your new person destined for the new Jerusalem. You were slave, but you've been set free from back to been emancipated from that bondage. You are one who is indwelt by the spirit your spiritual person in the sense that Paul is been using it here in Galatians you are one who is led by the spirit witnessed to by the spirit helped by the spirit strengthened by the spirit encouraged by the spirits and what is it that the spirit, the Holy Spirit loves to do. He loves to talk about Jesus is not wonderful.

The Holy Spirit's entire existence is to draw attention to Jesus like a light that sometimes put in the bushes outside of magnificent building. The building at night is lit up and all of its majestic architecture. When you pass by. You don't sort of going to the bushes, and similar wonderful life. This is no you look at the building to say what a magnificent building.

This is and that's the role of the Holy Spirit.

He will speak of me.

Jesus says in the upper room. He is Jesus's personal representative, agent the help of the product fits the strength, the advocate continues all about Jesus. And if you sold to the spirit he will make you more like Jesus. He will reproduce Jesus. Jesus will be born in you until that's one of Paul's images here in Galatians 20 reap all the old reap eternal life is what Paul says at the end of verse eight.

This is the roads and the trajectory that ends up in eternal life. So think of your life not in terms of a week or a month for your think of it in terms of eternity will but what you do have has consequences for eternity but just for now, just for tomorrow, not just for retirement but for eternity live versus tour with one eye on the glory one eye on heaven. Let your mind be set on things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Verse nine. Let us not grow weary of doing good. We all recognize weariness at the end of the day of Longman difficult things and difficult relationships in circumstances since on and you're just just weary. The seasons of life for you feel weary, never get weary of the Christian life never get weary of the things of God. The fact that Paul is saying. This means that there is a temptation to become weary is not simply saying this as it were in the dock. He recognizes that we are prone to get weary we are prone to give up. We are prone to lie down and sleep and then forget who we are when we wake up again so don't grow weary of doing good in due season we will reap if we do not give up. So the stewardship of goods in the stewardship of the body and then the stewardship of opportunity as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone and especially to those who are of the household of faith. It's interesting that that's the order in which Paul puts it, but there is a sense in which we should do good to everybody, especially to the household of faith. But everybody and so I think that justifies that every church I think should have at least a part of its budget for the community, not just for the church just to look after ourselves, but for the community in which our churches placed my own churches in downtown Columbia we occupy a couple blocks of the city. We don't pay taxes to the city. I think that brings an obligation that we should try and make up for that in doing good to the city.

The fact that we are there is a salt and light to the community to all kinds of complicated questions arise. Of course, in turn, drawn so that in specific ways and sometimes it's not the church directly that helps the community, but it sometimes part church organizations under much better suited they have more skills to do some of the things that improve the city that look after the homeless and the poor and the working poor. We all have to try and work that often the context in which we find ourselves, but we have a responsibility or thing to the community in which we are set folk look at the church. They see this Christian community and what do they see, but especially to the household of faith as the church progresses, it will become the specific responsibility of deacons. Much of that there are deacons, yet in Galatia, but 20 years from now.

Paul will talk about the office of the deacon, the part of the office of the Deaconess to take care of the flock.

Those who are in need.

Those who find themselves sooner.

The financial need. This is a team of women that just appear. For example, when there's a loss when there's a death they provide food and take away the burden of having to wonder and care for the people who come and visit the time of death, and this is one example of taking care of the household of faith know Paul is being very specific now as he brings this epistle to the Galatians to a close, but it wouldn't be Paul, if you didn't have one more thing to say about Jesus and what he has done for us. This tax season final.

This patient's and we will hear that lesson next time. Renewing Your Mind. I do hope you make plans to be with us were studying the book of Galatians with Dr. Derek Thomas from his series. No other gospel in first century Galatia false teachers infiltrated the church, claiming that faith in Jesus Christ is not enough to be justified in God's sight. Paul responded to this distortion of the gospel by writing a passionate letter defending the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

So were discovering that if we get the gospel wrong we get everything wrong. We would like for you to have this complete series. There are 14 messages contained on two DVDs and you can request them with your donation of any amount to litigator ministries. Our number is 800-435-4343 or you can give your gift online at Renewing Your Mind that work. This program provides accessible in-depth Bible teaching to millions of people around the world. We have the great privilege of sharing the life-changing truths of historic Christianity with you, our listeners and there are many ways to hear Renewing Your Mind ways that the you may not be aware of. You can listen for free on litigator's mobile app you can subscribe to the podcast and you can receive the program by email each day to learn more, simply go to Renewing Your Mind and look for the tab that says ways to listen was Dr. Thomas mentioned tomorrow we will hear the final lesson in the series on Galatians. That's where Paul sets aside his own accomplishments and boast in just one thing I find my identity.

I find my sense of well in my relationship with my union communion with him. I am crucified. I have been dying to who I once lost please join us Tuesday for Renewing Your Mind