East Cooper Baptist Church
July 21, 2013
Christianity is not a Spectator Sport
Rick Mosteller
Because we are all gifted by Christ and called to minister on His behalf,
we should seek to build up His body the church by speaking the truth in love.
1. Every Christian is Gifted by Christ
A. The Source is Grace - Grace is unconditional acceptance given to an undeserving person by an unobligated giver.
Grace - Charis Gifts - Charismata
John MacArthur "Spiritual gifts are divine enablements for ministry, not natural but supernaturally given by the Holy Spirit."
John Stott "A Spiritual gift is God's grace funneled through our personality."
B. Each one is Gifted Differently
Romans 12:6 - "We each have different gifts according to the grace given to us."
I Corinthians 12:11 "One and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills."
2. Every Christian is Called to Minister
A. Pastors are Gifts to Equip us to Serve
"The New Testament envisions ministry not as the prerogative of a clerical elite, but as the privileged calling of all the people of God. Thank God that in our generation this Biblical vision of every member in ministry is taking a firm hold in the church" - John Stott
"Paul's emphasis on the universality of spiritual gifts to Christians, with its corollary that every member ministry in the body of Christ should be the rule everywhere has been received widely in recent years. Still lay passivity persists in many churches. Paul's vision of church growth has to do with Christians expressing Christ to each other in all sorts of mutual service, support and help as love dictates. Active service on the part of each believer is the only regimen under which any church can mature." - J. I. Packer
B. The Purpose is to Build up the Body
1. Unity of the Faith and Knowledge of the Son of God
2. Maturity in the fullness of Christ
Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen - "It is God's will for you to live in prosperity instead of poverty." - "God wants us to prosper financially and plenty of money."
The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer - "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."
"The reason for the growth of the church in China is inextricably linked to the whole theology of the cross. The stark message of the Chinese Church is that God uses suffering and the preaching of a crucified Christ to build His church. The Chinese Church has walked the way of the cross." - Quoted in The Radical Disciple by John Stott
3. Every Christian Ministers by Speaking Truth in Love
A. The Biblical Balance of Truth and Love
"The question of truth is the great fault line in western culture today." Chuck Colson
"The end of Christianity is not the repetition of mere propositions. After having the correct propositions, the end of the matter is love to God and our neighbor. A dead ugly orthodoxy must be rejected as sub-Christian."
"The Bible speaks of the beauty of human relationships. I could call it love but we have so demoted the word that it is often meaningless so I use the word beauty. There should be an observable beauty for the world to see in the way true Christians treat each other."
"We need two orthodoxies: First orthodoxy of doctrine and second an orthodoxy of community." Two Contents Two Realities - Francis Schaffer
Romans 12:9-10 - "Don't just pretend that you love others, really love them. Love each other with brotherly affection and take delight in honoring each other." TLB
B. Resulting Growth is Individual and Corporate
"Too often the church is seen as a collection of individual souls that have been saved by grace, rather than a community of interacting personalities. Christian growth is not just a matter of individual soul culture, but rather the building of a community in the spirit of Christ. The individual emphasis is Biblical, but is only partial. Spiritual growth occurs best in a caring community. There are spiritual truths that I will never grasp and Christian standards I will never attain except as I share in community with other believers - this is God's plan. The Holy spirit ministers to us in large measure through each other. We are members of one another." - Community of the King - Howard Snyder
"The higher reaches of the Christian life cannot be attained in isolation from our fellow believers." F.F. Bruce
"I have discovered that the more I focus on my need to get better, the worse I actually get - I become self absorbed. Preoccupation with our own performance over Christ's performance for us actually hinders spiritual growth because it makes us increasingly self centered. Sanctification is forgetting about yourself. Thankfully the focus of the Bible is not on the work of the redeemed but the work of the redeemer. The gospel frees us from ourselves. It announces that this whole thing is about Jesus and our dependence on Jesus." - Tullian Tchividjian