13“You are the salt of
the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?
It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. 14“You are the light of
the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under
the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the
house. 16In the same way, let
your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give
glory to your Father in heaven. 17“Do not think that I
have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to
fulfill. 18For truly I tell you,
until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter,
will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Matthew 5:13 - 18 (NRSV)
For you were called
to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an
opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.
Galatians
5:13 (NRSV)
We have been spending
time with Jesus on “the Mount” – the sermon of our Lord; two-thousand, three
hundred and eighty-four words[1]
introduced by the “beatitudes” and ending with the astonishment of all the
listeners marveling over how Jesus taught with such awesome authority. This was heaven’s proposal for how to live if
we want to take seriously the idea of loving God.
There have been
virtually libraries of books written on the beatitudes alone, let alone the
other 109 verses of Jesus’ sermon. In
choosing to preach seven sermons on “the sermon” I am obviously not
exhausting everything that could be said about living as a follower of Jesus
Christ; I have simply chosen the seven topics that have been the most important
for me in growing as Jesus’ disciple these last fifty-plus years.
As we live the
Christian life and grow into our discipleship we become like a garment woven
together with holy thread…the strands all provide and receive strength from
each other. Christ is all, and in all[2].
Each of these
exhortations to living a Godly life is a component and a bridge. Each is vitally-important; none greater than
any other. Each provides a pathway to
the others. The first four topics we
covered were:
·
Believing
in Christ (faith)
·
Developing
a relationship with Christ in prayer
·
Forgiving
(and being forgiven) by others
·
Giving
(developing our life in Christ through stewardship)
Today’s theme is serving
as a slave. Within the Bible’s 1200
chapters, there are more than 1450 references to the word “servant” or “serve”. Something which is mentioned that often
demands our attention.
Let’s look at
developing our lives of discipleship through serving as a slave. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking…wasn’t
slavery outlawed? Well, yes, of
course it is outlawed to make someone else a slave to anyone. But, in discipleship, becoming God’s servant
is something for which we volunteer; we choose to be slaves of God.
Three words of relationship
There are three
words in the language of the New Testament that are used to describe
serving. These ancient Greek words, from
“weakest to strongest” (from a Christian perspective), are latreuo, diakonos
and doulos, forming a progression of relationship to Jesus.
latreuo
The weakest
relationship is that of legalities. The
word , "latreuo" (latreuo) is translated "minister"
in many cases, and it speaks of the one who is hired to perform a service. Many people see their relationship to God as
dutiful, paying an obligation, or a legal responsibility to "worship"
God. This is weak in thinking and
theology. If God wanted people who were
going to "pay Him back" he surely would look elsewhere. How can you repay the cross?
diakonos
The next strongest
relationship is the diakonos (diakonos), or “friendly host” to Jesus. We get our word “deacon” from this word. It describes the one who follows after Jesus
to be a heartfelt lover of the Lord.
Today there are many in our society who love the idea of "doing
something for Jesus." They go to
church, give, and serve on committees and boards. It is a nice picture of nice people doing
nice things in a nice way. As long as
everything stays "nice," everything will be "nice." However, we know that this isn't a nice
world. It is a world touched, gripped
and ripped by sin. Not everything in the
church, home or public place will be nice and ideal.
doulos
The third word is doulos (doulos), or
"slave." This is the strongest
word for relationship to Jesus. It
literally means "bondslave," the person who had no choice with his
own life. In ancient times a bondslave was
committed for life to serve the master of the house.
It requires
commitment to give yourself to someone. Paul,
James, Peter, John and many early disciples referred to themselves as the bondslaves
(doulos) of Christ. This is the
strongest word of relationship because it requires the most bridges
burned. The latreuo is a hired servant,
so he is there for what he'll receive in payment. The diakonos is serving because of favored
conditions.
The doulos, because
of the cross and God’s mercy and grace, is there to lose himself in life-long, loving
disposal to the Master's wishes. Do you
see the progression? It goes from
receiving wages (weakest relationship) to giving self (strongest relationship).
Now, the essence of
our text can be explained in the light of those three words. When Paul said, "...by love serve one
another." he used the word "doulos." The relationship is based on giving ourselves
to one another – servant/slavehood. He
didn't use "latreuo," saying we have an obligation to serve like a
hired waiter. He didn't say
"diakonos," indicating "hanging-out with the brethren"
until the going got rough. He said,
"doulos;” we are to be slaves, devoted to each other, even as we claim to
be devoted to Christ.
Notice three
implications about this:
Those who consider themselves slaves to everyone in the body are considered greatest in the body by the head of the body.
and whoever wishes to be first among you
must be slave of all. Mark 10:44 (NRSV)
After
I became your pastor, the first time we had a workday here, I showed up in my
jeans and sweatshirt. One of the men
remarked, Preacher, we don't expect you
to do any of the work here. It was a
wonderfully affirming word of respect for the office of Pastor; however, there
was work to be done, and I am part of the body here.
It is the same with
winning souls, visiting the sick and serving the body. Servanthood means you do the work because you
are His servant.
Those who have compassion to meet the needs of people instead of just judge people will be truly serving.
36Which of these three,
do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the
robbers?” 37He
said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke
10:36 - 37 (NRSV)
In the parable of
the Good Samaritan, the true servant of God's will was the man who put aside
racial, economic and religious barriers to meet someone's dire need. There are thousands of people in this
community who need the ministry of this body.
There was a little
boy in the ghetto who was having his faith in God mocked. His companion said, "If God really loves you, why doesn't he take care of you? Why doesn't God tell someone to bring you
shoes and a warm coat, and better food?"
The lad thought for a moment and then, with tears starting in his eyes,
said, "I guess God does tell
somebody, but somebody forgets."
Those who have consecrated themselves to serve the
body will really be serving the Master
And the king will
answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these
who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:40 (NRSV)
There is a
beautiful story by Tolstoy about a humble cobbler named Martin. In a dream Jesus speaks to him, saying, "I will soon come to you." "When he woke up in the morning, he was
excited. Jesus would pay a visit to him
sometime during the day. He swept his shop clean,
prepared a delicious meal, and waited for the visit. In the morning a hungry exhausted child came
to his shop, so Martin fed her and let her rest for a while. At mid-day an old woman happened by. The woman was cold and shivering. Martin gave her a warm shawl and she went on
her way. Late in the afternoon, a
barefooted beggar came to his door, and Martin gave him a pair of shoes. But Jesus did not come. When Martin went to bed that night he was
disappointed.
That night Jesus
once again appeared in a dream to him. Lord, why did you not visit me today? Martin
asked in all sincerity. Jesus then
replied, Martin, three times I visited you.
First as a little child, then as an old woman, and finally as a beggar. When we help a needy person, when we offer
food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty, we are actually helping
Jesus. When we care for the forgotten of
our society, as Jesus did, we are actually helping Jesus.[3]
Serve one another?
We can take that to
heart in varied ways. We can serve each
other like Salome' did for the Baptist, serving his head on a platter. That's the world's way.
We can latreuo one
another like hired servants, just doing what we do because it is our duty to do
things around the church.
We can diakonos one
another like fair weather friends, being nice among the nice as long as
everything's nice.
–
or –
We can be Biblical
slaves, doulos, committed to each other, filled with mercy, meeting
needs, doing it with love as unto the Lord.
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