Sermons Online
We Are All in the Same Boat
By Bishop Nicholson
Sep 22, 2008, 14:33

The fleshly thing to do is to go to someone else and gossip about how bad that person is. This is a terrible sin.  We’ve all failed in this area and we need to seek forgiveness.  If we gossip this destroys the peace and unity of the church and takes away from the blessing we can receive from God.  Psalms 64:4 RV tells us that gossip is like shooting an arrow from a secret place at a person (Ps. 64:4 RV). It is no coincidence that the word translated " devil" essentially means a false accuser, a slanderer.  It is also translated this way in 1 Tim. 3:11; 2 Tim. 3:3).

In Romans 3:10-18 here we see a picture of sinful mankind.  In verse 13 it says, “Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit; The poison of asps is under their lips”.  Every wonder what an asp is?  An asp is a cobra or poisonous snake with terrible venom which kills.  

Long before Paul, David the Shepherd King of Israel took a strong stand against slander- having suffered so much of it himself. He vowed to put to death, i.e. to set up the death sentence, for anyone caught privately slandering or backbiting against a neighbor (Ps. 101:5). Our Lord Jesus shared this understanding, by teaching that hatred of our brother is in fact the kind of murder which carried the death penalty in Old Testament times.  

The scriptures give clear guidance as to how we should use our tongues.  Instead of breaking others down, when we use our tongues, we should build one another up with good comments.  Let's all agree to always look at the good side of everyone we deal with.  If the other one is wrong God will deal with that person.  WE know that God is the perfect judge.  If the problem is a justifiable that’s why we have an Elders board within the church. 

If you have an issue with the pastor or someone in the Church, speak with an elder or go directly to the pastor and know he will receive you with love and openess.  This way the issues are dealt with internally and confidentially.  Again, please understand, if the problem is in the local church congregation, deal with it there.  There is no need to go to APB directly; the only way APB will respond officially is through the Joint Board.  In military terms it’s like going through your chain of command.

Our Moravian church is experiencing many good spiritual things; we are moving forward.  We must to be careful of attacks by the enemy which may set us backwards, if we are not vigilant.  In transformation of our lives, if we are in sin, there is the importance of understanding the very nature of who we are; we are all in the same boat.  Let’s read Romans 3:9-25.  This read should help us to be more humble and yielded to God the Holy Spirit.  [Note: after the worship service a person related to the pastor that as I read this section, she saw "beautiful bright shining dimonds" on that Bible selection.  God was blessing that listener.  Faith comes by hearing.......".  Praise God!]

It is clear in Chapter 3:3 that the Jews have benefits and privileges that none of the other nations had. They were trusted with the oracles of God" or as we would say it, "they were entrusted with God's Word."  There is an application to us.  If a person has the Bible, he has a great advantage and a great privilege and a great responsibility of sharing it to those around. 

In verse 23 of Romans 3, Paul speaks of the sin nature that we have.  Why did God allow sin and evil into His universe?  I imagine one of the big things is that without sin, we could never know God apart from sin: His mercy, His love, His longsuffering, His grace, His judgment, etc.  For example, how can God show how merciful He is to forgive sinners if there is not any sin and if there are no sinners to forgive?

Sin has ravaged mankind, but Jesus did something outstanding for us.  In Romans 3:24 we see the word "Justified", “being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”  A common definition of "justified" is "just as if I’ve never sinned.  God see us as if I have always lived perfectly righteously, that is, from the day of my birth to the day of my death I have always loved the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and I have always loved my neighbor as myself.  How can God see me like this?  It is because He sees me clothed by the blood of Jesus Christ and in His perfect righteousness.  When we believe in Christ God puts the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ on our account (see Romans 4:3-5 and compare Genesis 15:6). God now sees me in His righteous Son

It's all about “Propitiation". Christ offered his blood for us.  God can never be SATISFIED until sin is punished and the penalty is paid. When Jesus died on the cross, man’s sin was punished and sin's penalty was paid in full (John 19:30; 1 John 2:2).  What is your response to this?  We must understand that we must have personal belief in the salvation offered by Christ through the covering of his blood by our faith in His blood.  Romans 3:29-30 says that God’s glorious gospel is not limited to one nation - the Jews. God created all men and God died for all men, and thus the gospel message is offered to everyone and that includes you.

In closing for Moravians, we recognize that Christ’s blood is powerful.  It is the basis for our understanding of what makes us acceptable to God and his kingdom.  The blood of Jesus is powerful enough to atone for the sinfulness of human beings; it erased former and present wrongs. Our Savior had completed what no earthly being could do: grant mercy and forgiveness for all human beings throughout the world. To the Moravians, His blood provided the means.

In the 1740s, during the "Sifting Period," Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf, cultivated in his followers an obsession with blood that stressed the imagery of blood.  There was obsession with the wounds.  Moravians prayed that they would be able to crawl into Christ’s wounds and find refuge.  The early Moravians sought to keep Christ's death and suffering on the cross always before them.  This was true among the Moravian missionaries that came to us in southwestern Alaska.  We thank them for sharing the story of this supreme sacrifice of God’s son. 

Christ’s wounds and blood signified the total sacrifice God had made for humankind.  Maybe we need to focus more on Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary; this is what made the Alaska Province possible.  For Moravians in the Kuskokwim the first convert was touched by the story of Christ’s sacrifice and the giving of his blood.  The blood of Jesus and our faith in His blood is what saves us!  This is where transformation begins.  With our Spirit quickened by the Spirit of God we now have new life.  We are born again. There is now the possibility of change of our own personal attitudes so that we are people that uplift God and others.  Amen.

Prayer:  God you are moving and we are thank you’re your are moving among the Native people of Alaska.  We know that you are constantly revealing yourself.  In John 15:16, "Ye have not sought Me, but I have sought you."  As believers we thank you  for the gracious work that you is willing to do and that you do in our human heart (Acts 16:14; John 6:44-45,65).  God you are the the "great Initiator"; continue to move in our loved one's hearts.  We remember one of your hymn writers who said: "Lost in the darkness I stumbled alone, Far from the sunlight of day. Then Jesus found me and made me His own. He drove my darkness away. Before I loved Him, He loved me.  Before I found Him, He found me.  Before I sought Him, He sought for me. Yes, Jesus cares for me" .  We are thank that you do care, that you are involved in our lives, that you are helping us to change our attitudes and tongues to build other up.  Help us to be more like Christ Jesus.  In His name we pray.  Amen.