Romans 12- a picture of unity through the Holy Spirit.

Romans 12 is such a wonderful picture of not only the "one anothering" verses, but points out how it is only the Holy Spirit's work in our lives that enables us to have the love and compassion, unity and peace, with the whole body that we are instructed to maintain. It is only when we focus on glorifying God and taking our eyes off ourselves, that we see the full picture of the local church body.

The chapter does not start with love and peace or gifts, but rather instructing us how if we desire to be used by God, we must rid ourselves of the sin and selfish ways that we all tend to gravitate towards. Those with the most publicly displayed gifts must be fervently at odds with the flesh and pride. The last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, speaks of how God feels about sacrifices that are polluted.

Mal 1:8 When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the LORD of hosts.

The Lord took it quite seriously that the offerings were clean, healthy, and usable for service. As Christians, those who have committed our lives to God, we must prayerfully consider all our ways in order to offer sacrifice to the Lord that is pleasing. We are not obligated to sacrifice as in the old covenant, but rather in the age of grace should have love for God flowing from our hearts in spiritual worship. We are not our own, but have been bought with a price. Will we live up to the standards that Jesus said would be hallmarks of His flock?

Paul goes directly from how we must offer ourselves in sacrifice, to taking down pride in the flesh in verse 3. This is something that I often have a hard time with. Pride has at times had a stronghold in my life, and God is continuously working in my heart to humble me and show me that being a servant of God is a privilege. There is nothing that I have earned nor one single thing to be prideful about, but only the Potter's skillful hands shaping and molding, that is responsible for any accomplishments in our lives.

The changes in our hearts as we draw nearer to God are nothing that we have done in our own lives, but the fruits of the Holy Spirit as we surrender to His will and His desires in our lives. As our works can add nothing to the work of salvation, our works do not give us special titles or access to God. God draws , near to all those who draw near to Him.

The remaining verses in Romans 12 go on to tell us of the unified, universal body of Christ, with all blood bought believers acting out their parts according to the power of the Holy Spirit. We must not act as though some of us are elevated in position before the Lord just because we have certain jobs, education, or even longevity in the Christian walk. There are many that have been great examples in my life and have encouraged me to follow Jesus more closely, as evidence in their lives show me how God sustains, strengthens, and blesses those who serve Him with a pure heart.

Our tendency at times is to put the emphasis on knowing the scope and demonstration of spiritual gifts, developing gifts, and putting people into categories of service. Don't misunderstand, we must seek to know how God is working in our lives and how He will use us. However, the larger emphasis must be put on the fact that an offering of a pure vessel for service can be endued with any gift God sees fit to give. God is able to make the high school dropout an eloquent preacher, a disabled body whole again, and we must not limit the power of the Holy Spirit by our own vision. We were dead, and now we live for eternity. Nothing is beyond the limits of God in empowering those who will commit to serving.

We are told in Scripture, even in this passage that each believer has at least one gift and a job in the body of Christ. Let us simply seek God out day by day to get our own desires out of the way and allow the full measure of the Holy Spirit to be poured out on our lives. We are simply vessels, and the Master desires that we be fit for use and available for service.

As we fill the mold the Master has designed for us, giving up all that is left of ourselves, for the sake of the body of Christ and the glory of God, we will see the bigger picture. This has so many practical applications, but there is not time to write it all out. Rather, spend your time in God's Word, in prayer, and seek to be filled with the Spirit of God more and more each day. We are indwelt with the Holy Spirit at salvation, and that will never leave us. Now it is time to fill all areas of our lives with none of ourselves, and only leave room for Him. God does not want some of your heart of most of it, but all.

Let us give our all today, surrendered to our loving and glorious Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the lover of my soul. I pray that my life is a pleasing sacrifice, and that if sin should creep in that I will purge it from my heart in confession, knowing that God will not charge to my account anything, but rather has put it on the charge of His beloved Son. When I think of sin that way, I am reminded how it must grieve the Father to see us living in disobedience or mediocrity. Today is the day to give all, He is worthy and deserving of nothing less.

Mark

Tackling one of the "not one anothers"

Gal 5:13 For ye, brethren, were called for freedom; only use not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants one to another.
Gal 5:14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Gal 5:15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
Gal 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would.

There is so much to be said from this passage when we see the context of it. I am going to stick to verse 15 for now. This is the negative side of "one anothering" and I hate to have to admit that at times I have been guilty of talking badly, jesting coarsely, and spending my time tearing down instead of edifying my brothers and sisters in Christ. Often I have what I feel to be a valid complaint. Not always has someone wronged me, per se, but that I see the body is suffering in consequence of someone's actions indirectly. Of course, logically this would be best remedied by complaining, railing, and gossip, right? WRONG!

Q: So, is it my place to complain and talk badly about my fellow laborers in Christ?
A: Eph 4:32 and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, even as God also in Christ forgave you.

Q: Is it acceptable before the Lord to have an attitude in my prayer of pride and spite?
A: Mat 6:14 "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. "
Luk 18:10 -14(speaking of the publican and the Pharisee)"for every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

Q: What would be an acceptable time to "air out" our differences, and what could be roadblocks to finding solutions?
A: Read Matthew 18:12-20 and see what Jesus said about the situation. There are other passages, look around and see the Bible is rich in examples, teaching, and daily life experiences of many who came before us and did things God's way.

We ought always to find these answers in God's Word, our final authority on all things. When we have troubles, we will find our answers when we submit ourselves to God, coming fervently and humbly in prayer. We must pour out all that is self and simply submit to all the Lord has for us, all that He has commanded us to do.

Some may feel that I have left this incomplete, and I have for this reason. The best way to learn is not to ask someone for the answer, but rather seeking the answers from God's Word. Studying to show ourselves approved unto God is a privilege that we have as believers, at least in my country, have taken for granted far too long. Too often we think it is the job of the pastor or teacher to instruct us in all things, yet God desires us to be committed to His Word not just on Sundays or mid week services, but all days. Let's work together to not just practice one anothering, but to truly seek God each day. If we take the time to pray about our struggles and listen to God's Spirit leading and His Word, we will find we have much less trouble with how to handle things.

I pray this has been a help. I am recruiting a few close brothers and sisters to collaborate on this. All material submitted will be checked carefully with Scripture. Please let me know if something slips by me that is not scripturally accurate. I consider it joy to be able to help in practicing these "one anothers" and look forward to insight from many others. Let God be our guide through His Word, have a great day, and go "one another" someone.

Let the experiment begin!

At the end of this post is the list of "one anothers". I encourage you to read over these passages for the next few days. Pray specifically which "one anothers" you are doing already and either expand on that, or add another one. Consider reaching out not just to those closest to you, but those who you may not know well. In a larger body this would be easier, but even in many small churches we organize ourselves into little cliques. I don't believe, if we honestly think about it, that the Lord would be pleased to know that we fellowship only with those that are our same age, same interests, but rather that His body, His church would be united around the head, Jesus Christ.

The challenge- Each week, select a family in the local body to pray for. In the instance of hospitality, I would use this example taken from a letter I wrote to a friend regarding hospitality:

"Friday evening, invite a family(or2) that you have prayed about throughout the week either to your home or to stay after on Sunday at the church(if there are facilities)to have a meal that you will prepare for them. If they choose to bring something fine, but be prepared to do all the work. Do this for the next 8 weeks. The purpose is to get to know them, encourage them, and to show the love of Christ for these other members of His body, your family in Him.

We have seen this work wonders in our own personal experiences. We have seen people come to trust us more, be more invested in each other's lives, and reach out with the Gospel, too. We have intentionally made the discussion not just small talk, but trying to get to know each other, help meet needs, and let people know that we love them as family, and not just as people we see on Sundays and Wednesdays.

We love you and miss you all. This is a way we feel that we can continue to help the body there your local church even from afar. We look forward to hearing how God works, remember more than anything that you are God's ambassador, speaking and showing His love for His people in the same we He loves you"

Another recent challenge to a brother reads like this:

 "My brother, you are an encourager. I know this firsthand as you have shown me Scripture from the Lord, prayerfully considering a passage and then applying it to my situation and my life to remind me of our Savior. This helped bring me closer to the Lord. I believe this is something we should all try to do. But I am taking it a step further. I would like your permission to share results with others to encourage them also. I will be doing this type of thing with believers all over the country and some other parts of the world where I know folks personally.

 The challenge- in your daily prayer time, ask the Lord to lay on your heart 1 person that you don't normally talk to regularly. Pray for this person and consider what passage God would have you share with this brother or sister. Then, call them or write them just to share that message. Do this once a week for the next 8 weeks and let me know the results."

The "one another" passages are below. Some seem repetitive, but I would think that they are more emphatic and important if they are repeated so often. Love one another is often the sentiment, brought out in many different venues. Love like that our beloved Jesus has for His church, sacrificial love that points not to ourselves but to our Savior. I do not make any assumption that anyone is doing none of these, nor that this is an original idea. Rather, it is my prayer that we seek to please the Lord in all things, to bear one another's burdens.

When we live like this, sharing the Gospel is more genuine. When we think of all God has saved us from, the gratitude of our hearts should spur us to tell others of the consequence of sin and what a great price Jesus paid to reconcile us to God. If we do not love each other, and are constantly berating other believers, how can we expect the Lord to bless our seed sowing. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. If we sow discord and selfishness, we will not reap the bountiful blessing of sweet fellowship around the Lord Jesus.

So, will you take the challenge? If so, please write and let me know. I will be keeping track and would like permission to share results with others. I would keep names out of it for privacy sake, but just want to see what can happen when we act like we are commanded to act. This is not just a command, but a privilege.

There is much more to this, and it goes outside the walls of the church, reaching out with the Gospel. I pray that you will take this challenge seriously, bathe it in prayer, and step out to see what God can do when His people obey Him in all things.

(Mark 9:50)(John 13:14) (John 13:34)(John 13:35) (John 15:12) (John 15:17) (Rom 12:5) (Rom 12:10) (Rom 12:16) (Rom 13:8) (Rom 14:13) (Rom 14:19) (Rom 15:5) (Rom 15:7) (Rom 16:16)(1Co 11:33) (1Co 12:25) (1Co 16:20) (2Co 13:12) (Gal 5:13) (Gal 5:15) (Gal 5:26) (Gal 6:2)(Eph 4:2) (Eph 4:25) (Eph 4:32)(Eph 5:21) (Col 3:9)(Col 3:13) (Col 3:16) (1Th 3:12) (1Th 4:9) (1Th 4:18) (1Th 5:11) (Tit 3:3) (Heb 3:13) (Heb 10:24) (Jas 4:11) (Jas 5:9) (Jas 5:16) (1Pe 1:22) (1Pe 3:8) (1Pe 4:9) (1Pe 4:10)(1Pe 5:5) (1Pe 5:14) (1Jn 1:7) (1Jn 3:11) (1Jn 3:23) (1Jn 4:7) (1Jn 4:11) (2Jn 1:5)

Mark and Sara Cowperthwaite
oneanothering@gmail.com