Date:   06/13/2010

Text:   1 Timothy 3:14-16

Title:   House Rules

Theme: Since God has made known His redemptive plan, therefore His followers are to behave in a proper way.

Introduction:

  In May, I visited a church in China . In one part of its facility I saw signs such as: keep the place clean; make sure no flies are in the rooms. After the Sunday worship, groups of volunteers were seen picking up the left behind bulletins and mopping the floor. During the weekdays volunteers came to clean and maintain the different parts of the church yard. I also think of a church in Houston that I visited several years ago. I was deeply impressed by the beautiful flower arrangements that dotted the church. We, too, have standards to maintain this facility that God has given us. However, keeping a church building immaculately clean and in top condition is only part of the picture. Yes, a clean church building is important, it gives people a good impression and reflects the values of people that gather there.

  Now, how about the other way round? As people look at the believers that gather in this and other church buildings, can they tell anything about our values and priorities? I learned of a church that several years ago, occupied a two story building. Then there was a severe conflict resulting in a split; and the church was divided into two churches. One church occupied the upper floor, and the other downstairs. Can you imagine being the pastor of either one of the churches? This and other situations that I shared with you about a month ago, reflect a reality that many of us Christians do not know how to conduct ourselves in church. Or for that matter, we may not know what a church is.

Again, this is not a 21 st century issue. In the 1 st century, the church at Ephesus seemingly also had the same problem. You see, Ephesus was known for its idol goddess, Diana. Ephesus was goddess Diana's house, dwelling place. Many of the citizens made a living out of her, and there was also sexual immorality associated with her worship. Now, some of the citizens of Ephesus had come to know God and Jesus Christ. They were uncertain what this new community should be like, and might have brought in some of their old habits and values. This then led to a clash of two different value systems, causing conflicts and confusion. In light of this, the Apostle Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, asking him to instruct the Ephesians believers what a church is and how to conduct themselves in this church. In this passage, we'll learn the truth that Since God has made known His redemptive plan; therefore His followers are to behave in a proper way.

I •  Church is God's household.

Vs. 15, “ 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of truth.” Whenever the believers come together, God is among us. It is a place where God stays, where God is to be found. It is known as God's family:

When we come to faith in Christ, we are reconciled with God; and consequently being adopted into God's family, becoming his children. As members of this family, we are brothers and sisters in Christ. Like our earthly family, we don't get to choose who is our brother or sister. Once we are born into our parent's family, we learn to live with and love our siblings. We are not to let our own sibling or lack of a healthy sibling relationship dictate how we should relate to one another. Instead, we are to let God's word dictate how we are to live with one another in love and harmony.

1 •  Church of Living God.

This place of worship is also known as the church of the living God. It means that this belongs to God. When we had our health day in April, or during a youth event this past week, we saw participants wearing certain specially made T-shirts. It tells others that we belong to this group, this community. The same is with the church. When we come together, we are wearing specially made T-shirts to show that we belong to God. Except that our T-shirts are invisible. Instead people will see our humility and gentleness when we interact with each other. When they see us in this community, they will recognize, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. This is what they will notice.

Now, there is more.

2 •  Manifestation of truth.

“…a pillar and buttress of truth.” It says that the church is like pillars holding the truth, or the foundation on which the truth stands. However, strictly speaking, the Truth doesn't really need us to hold her up, right? This truth can certainly stand on its own. What Paul is explaining to Timothy is that whenever the believers come together, God's truth is to be shown and clearly seen. If anyone would ask, where can I find truth, the objective and absolute truth, we are to be able to point them to the Christian church. Telling others, if you want to know truth, come here. For it is in the Christian community, that we learn and proclaim the truth about God's existence, His holiness, His love and faithfulness.

We don't do it too well in this area. Among the 21 st century Christians, we show little interest in Truth. We want to see how the Bible can help me to have a happy marriage, instead of how I am to obey God's word at home. We want the scriptures to show us how to have a successful business or career, instead of how we are to be obedient to God's word at our work place. We are timid about our faith because we are afraid of offending others. We dare not proclaim that Jesus is the only way to God for we are afraid of offending other religions.

In vs 15, Paul reminds Timothy and us about the true nature of a church. It's not a social club where people of like mind, values and ethnic background come once or twice a week. This is the place where God dwells, it's his family. The ones belonging to this community are to relate to each others as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. It is not a place where we just share our personal insights about the scriptures, but where the objective and absolute truth are studied and proclaimed.

II  •  The church of God lives by God-given house rules.

Now, since this is no ordinary gathering, no ordinary place, then what? Vs.15, “.. ” Paul makes it very clear that he wanted Timothy to tell the believers at Ephesus that since the church is God's household, a pillar of truth, then those who belong to this church need to know how to conduct themselves in this community. The church is not to reflect us, rather, just the opposite, we are given the task, the challenge to reflect that the church is God's family, the pillar of truth.

We want to first take a look at the thought of how we shall conduct ourselves in God's household. It is a well known fact that NA Chinese churches are full of talented and gifted people. They do well and have great accomplishments in the society. We are to be thankful about this. However, the danger is that we may bring into the church the secular way of doing things.

Several months ago I read in a well known Chinese Christian magazine an article about the role of a senior pastor. The author wrote that the most important role of a senior pastor is to cast vision to the church members. Nowhere is mentioned about his preaching responsibilities. The senior pastor has become the CEO of a business enterprise. So, how should we conduct ourselves in God's church? Do we play by the same rule as the world around us, or should our operation reflect that this is God's family, pillar and foundation of truth? In chapters 2 and 3 Paul wrote about behaviors to be expected in God's household.

First, this is a place of prayer. Our public prayers must be accompanied by holiness. I think of situations when we begin the meetings with earnest prayers. Yet, soon into the discussion, it has become a shouting match. This is wrong, not right. Prayers are to be followed and backed up by godliness,

Secondly, we come to this household of God in moderate dress. The standards vary from culture to culture; city to city. At Saddleback church in California , or a well known church in Hawaii , the pastors may preach in shorts and Hawaiian shirts. The congregation may come in very casual attire, much more so than they would attend a wedding. Yet, the general rule of thumb is what we wear must not lead others into temptations. It must not draw attention to ourselves, or distract others from worshipping God.

Thirdly, there is order in this family of God. Men and women are all created equal, yet we have different roles. Like a healthy family, the father and mother are equal in every aspect, but their roles are different. We'll have more on this topic on a later date.

Fourthly, leadership in the church of living God. Yes, God is the head, the leader of this and other churches. However, He has also placed men and women in positions to guard and care for the church. Last month, we took a closer look at the qualifications of elders and deacons. As pointed out, when we look at 3:1-13, there is little mention of an elder or deacon's ministry skill, with the exception of teaching for the elders. You see, the society looks at how long your resume is, and your strengths and abilities. They may care little how well you treat your spouse and children at home. However, the biblical emphasis on leadership is the person's character and integrity. God cares more about what kind of person you are, then your skills and ability. In recent weeks, I understand that you have been reminded on different occasions about the coming nomination and election of the elders and deacons in this church. As you pray for the process, ask God to give the church council, pastors and the congregation the wisdom necessary to select men and women with Godly characters and integrity.

Fifthly, the motivation of our ministry. What motivates us? Higher attendance? More name recognition in our community? In the 3 rd and 4 th verses of chapter 2, it reminds us that our motivation is Evangelistic. It is God's desire, his heart to see that all become saved. It is His desire that all should come to know His truth. We often ask: what is God's will? Here, in black and white, it tells us that God wants all to come to know him and be saved. If this is his desire, dare we desire otherwise? When I go to Asia , even though I go there to teach, but without exception, I am the one who is being taught. I was taught and touched by the zeal of many believers that I have come into contact. It was their desire to share the gospel with people around them. A pastor gave a Bible to the former vice mayor of a city. Later, this mayor gave the Bible to a TV broadcaster and said, “this is a book you must read. If you are not a party member, you must believe in this faith.” Later, this broadcaster started to come to church. One time I was in a taxi with a student. Soon after we got in, he started a conversation with the driver. And before long, the topic was about God, Jesus and the Christian church. This is how the gospel message was passed on from one person to another. We come here to worship and many of us are involved in various ministries. What is our motivation? May God's desire to have all men come to know him also become our desire.

This church, HCC is God's household, pillar of truth. Therefore when we come together, we are to make sure our conduct and behavior are in line with what has been revealed to us in the scriptures.

III •  The church of God holds onto an essential body of truth.

The church is God's family, and the believers are expected to conduct themselves as taught by God's. There is one more thing, that is the content or the core of our faith. What our faith is all about. Vs.16 is the gospel, God's redemptive work in a nutshell. Vs. 16, “ 16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” In the NT, the word ‘mystery' means the truth about Jesus Christ that was hidden in the OT and is now made clear to all. This verse tells us that Jesus is God and became man, it is incarnation. He was the righteous one, without sin while on earth. His righteousness was affirmed by the Spirit in his resurrection. After his resurrection, he was seen by angels, as recorded in Acts 1:8-11. The message that He is the son of God, that he is God, is being proclaimed to the end of the world and this message was believed. He was taken up to heaven. This is very similar to what is known later as the apostle's creed. In other words, we need to have a high view of the church, this high view will dictate how we should behave in God's church. Yet what holds all this together is God's redemptive work. You see, because God has first acted, therefore we are to act in a way pleasing to him. Our attitude and behavior in church is a response to what God did to us and for us.

Conclusion:   

From the three verses we studied today, we learned that God had taken the initiative to act in our world. He sent his son, Jesus Christ to us; this is the incarnation. Jesus died on our behalf, and God raised him from the dead. 40 days, Jesus ascended into heaven. this message was then proclaimed to the end of the earth and believed by many. From beginning to the end, it is God's work. Because of God's work, we are gathered in this community of believers. Because of God's work, we have come here to worship with other brothers and sisters in Christ. Because of God's work in us, we respond by conducting ourselves properly in his household. In this church, in God's church, we are to do God's work God's way.

As I said in the beginning, I was impressed by the clean and well-kept church building. It revealed the value of the people that were in the facility. Yet, what goes on inside the church is equally important. I noticed some of the announcements: prayer meeting for those who are facing the pressure of college entrance exam; Tuesday and Thursday morning prayer meetings from 6am to 7:30am; training for hospital visits and so on. The church building can reflect the values and priorities of its occupants. Yet what is even more important is the conduct of the believers that truly reflect the truth, that this church is God's household, pillar and buttress of Truth.