What’s Your Role in the Church’s Glory?

7th Sunday after Pentecost, 7/28/19
Galatians 6:1-10, 14-16


What’s Your Role in the Church’s Glory?
I. Provide appropriate spiritual care.
II. Do good to all people.


In 1998 Kenny Wayne Shepherd released the song, “Blue on Black,” which rose to the top of the charts for a number of weeks. Shepherd states that he didn’t write the song about any particular situation in his life or anyone’s life. It simply states that what we do often doesn’t make a difference. It doesn’t change a thing. That theme runs through the refrain which states:

“Blue on black, Tears on a river,
Push on a shove, It don’t mean much.
Joker on jack, Match on a fire,
Cold on ice, A dead man’s touch,
Whisper on a scream, Doesn’t change a thing,
Don’t bring you back, Blue on black.”

I’ll admit that there are times in our lives when we’re convinced that we are making a difference, but the opposite is also true. Our efforts are like shedding a tear on a river. Even you can’t tell you did a thing, let alone anyone else.

This morning our hearts and souls and minds are focused on the glory of the Church of Christ. That eternal glory is the result of our gracious God carrying out his plan of redemption through his Son, Jesus Christ. By his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus has founded the Church, the body of all believers, which shall never perish. Even Satan can’t overcome it. And we’re members of it by faith in Jesus.

But when is the last time you considered your place in that Church? While it’s true that Jesus has done everything needed for you to live forever in that Church, it’s also true that God has planned great things for you to do in that Church.

I’m guessing most, if not all, of you have tried. You’ve tried to do your part. But in the end, it seemed like blue on black, just tears on a river. You couldn’t tell if you made a difference and neither could anyone else.

If the Apostle Paul were present this morning, he’d tell you that simply isn’t true. Here in the closing verses of his Letter to the Galatians he has two very important things for you to do. Would you like to know what they are? Let’s find out as we ask the question, “What’s your role in the Church’s glory?”

Part I.

We’ve all heard of cases of bystander apathy—situations in which someone or something is suffering and the people present do nothing. I did a Google search on the subject of bystander apathy and, according to one site, the Holocaust in Nazi Germany ranks as the worst example of it. Every one of the concentration camps was located near towns and villages. Countless people knew what was going on and yet the vast majority of them did nothing. It was the easiest course of action to take.

It’s also easy to be a Church bystander—to realize that something should be done, but decide not to get involved. Or to shrug your shoulders and resign yourself to that’s the way things
are.

That’s nothing new. The Galatian Christians were tempted towards bystander apathy, too. Listen to Paul’s words once again, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.” Let’s examine the second sentence first. Paul warns us, before we get involved in the Church, to be wary. Be careful. Why? Because sinful pride lurks inside every one of us. Let’s be sure our motives for approaching someone about their sin are pure, and that we have taken care of repenting of our own sins first. Recall that Jesus once talked about first removing the beam from our own eyes before we address the splinter in someone else’s.

Then, be helpful to others. Paul talks about restoring an erring brother or sister. They’re caught in some sin, a sin of weakness. Your role and mine is to point it out humbly and call them to repentance. And when they do repent, then Paul states, “Carry each other’s burdens.” For instance, if the person’s sin was some sort of addiction, how can you continue to support them in their recovery? How will you be there for them in times of temptation?

But all the while, heed Paul’s advice, “If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” When dealing with a Christian who is caught in some sin, Satan will play on your sinful pride, causing you to look down on that person and up at yourself. But none of us is better than any other.

And finally, Paul tells us to be careful. “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” If you think you can get away with impure motives when dealing with a fellow Christian, you couldn’t be more wrong. God knows and he can’t be mocked. So be careful!

Paul’s words are easy to understand but burdensome to put into practice. It would be much easier to resort to bystander apathy. Don’t do it! Instead, ask this question, “What’s your role in the Church’s glory?” It’s to provide appropriate spiritual care.

If you travel by air, you’ve heard the advice, perhaps countless times. In the event of the loss of pressure in the cabin, oxygen masks will drop down from the overhead compartment. Be sure to secure your own mask before helping someone secure theirs. Wise advice!

Paul’s advice is spiritually similar. What’s your role in the Church’s glory? Before you consider what help another Christian needs, make sure your own spiritual house is in order. That doesn’t mean you need to be sin-free. None of us is. But it means we recognize our sinfulness, confess our sins, trust in Jesus for our forgiveness and receive his help for godly living. Part of that godly living is providing appropriate spiritual care for others.

But that’s not easy, especially in our “don’t judge me world.” But Paul’s words still ring with God’s eternal truth, “You who are spiritual should restore him gently.” Do you know someone who needs your spiritual help? I’ll bet you do. First pray about it. Then make sure that person knows how much you love them and care about them. Share your own story of your sin and God’s forgiving grace in Christ. And then find a way to speak with that person about their sin of weakness and about their Savior from sin, Jesus Christ. And that’s when the glory of the Church shines—when Christians provide appropriate spiritual care for others by sharing the forgiving love of Jesus.

Part II.

A wise person once said, “People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” In Christian circles, we call that pre-evangelism. We want people to know first that we care about them. For instance, in Africa we sink wells for drinking water. Once the local people know and see that, they’re more ready to listen to us when we share the Water of Life—Jesus Christ.

Paul speaks to us this morning about that opportunity as our Christian obligation. He writes, “Therefore, do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” We have an obligation, but it’s not to do good works for our salvation. You’re well aware that there’s nothing we can do to earn eternal life in heaven. Heaven is ours by grace through faith in Jesus alone.

Our obligation is not to our God, but to our neighbor. In other places of this letter Paul calls this the law of love. Jesus declared that law of love when he said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” At first that sounds easy, like something you do naturally every day. But recall our Lord’s Parable of the Good Samaritan. The neighbor in that parable was the least likely one—humanly speaking—to love his neighbor. A Samaritan showed love to a Jewish person. They historically hated each other. It’s the same point we made in last week’s sermon. Love for Jesus gives you the power to love the unlovable.

But Paul urges you especially to show love to your fellow Christians. If you haven’t noticed yet, life out there is brutal, spiritually speaking. There are assaults on your faith every day. We need to stick together, to stay in this fight together, to encourage each other to hold on to the truth of God’s word and to make God’s word our cherished possession. And when a need arises among us, let’s assume our Christian role of doing what we can to help one another.

So, how does helping each other and our neighbor show the glory of Christ’s Church? Because that’s what Jesus brought us into his kingdom to do—to reflect his love to others, to allow others to see him through us.

What’s your role in the Church’s glory? It’s doing good to all people.

It’s my impression that opposition to Christianity is on the rise. Do you agree? If so, what should we do? The easy thing is to retreat from the world, hunker down, and hope that the ungodly storm passes over us or God takes us home to heaven. The hard thing to do is to show the glory of Christ’s Church by truly loving others. So, watch what you say and how you say it in reacting to others who are being hostile to you. Think for a moment how you might best reflect Christ’s love to them. Offer to help them with something in their earthly lives. Show them the love of Christ.

And when you do, that glow you see with your eyes of faith will be the glory of Christ’s Church and it’s emanating from you. May God help us all to do just that! Amen.