Believers Behaving Like Unbelievers

Q: What does the Bible say about carnal believers?

The Bible warns that carnal believers behave like natural men, reflecting envy, strife, and divisions among them. In 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, Paul admonishes believers for their carnal nature, indicating that they are acting like infants in Christ. This carnality manifests itself through behavior that aligns with the flesh rather than the Spirit. Paul points out that the presence of envy and strife signifies a lack of spiritual maturity and growth. Believers are called to be spiritual and reflect the nature of Christ, but when they allow their fleshly impulses to dominate, they resemble those who do not know God at all.

Q: How do we know that believers can behave like unbelievers?

Believers can act like unbelievers, showing behaviors such as division and conflict, as seen in Paul's letter to the Corinthians. The reality that true believers sometimes behave like unbelievers is illustrated in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, where Paul notes that the Corinthian church was plagued by divisions fueled by envy and strife. He describes them as carnal and unable to receive deeper spiritual truths due to their immature states. This reflects a broader theme in Scripture where even genuine believers can succumb to ungodly behaviors, revealing the ongoing struggle with sin and the flesh. The call to maturity and the pursuit of spiritual growth is essential to prevent such behaviors.

Q: Why is seeking unity important for Christians?

Seeking unity is vital because it reflects the character of Christ and brings glory to God among believers. Unity among Christians is emphasized in Philippians 2:3-4, where believers are called to consider others better than themselves. Unity is essential for communal worship and effective witness to the outside world. The church is described as the body of Christ, and just as a body functions best when all parts work harmoniously together, Christians must strive for peace and mutual support. When disagreements and divisions arise, they detract from the glory of God and undermine the church's witness, making it imperative for believers to cultivate unity through love and understanding.

Q: What should Christians do when they have conflicts with others?

Christians are called to resolve conflicts swiftly, seeking peace and reconciliation according to God's principles. In Matthew 5:23-24, Jesus instructs that if one has an issue with a brother, they should first go and be reconciled before offering gifts at the altar. This emphasizes the priority of relationships in the life of believers. When conflicts arise, Christians are encouraged to take immediate steps towards resolution, exhibiting humility and a spirit of forgiveness. Paul echoes this in Ephesians 4:32, where believers are urged to be kind and tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven them. Such actions foster community and bring honor to God by demonstrating the transformative power of the gospel in interpersonal relationships.

Now let's turn again to the book
of 1 Corinthians, chapter 3. As I said when I read the text
tonight, I'm not going to try to preach a sermon. This type of subject is not the type of material that you
would select if you're going to preach a sermon. I want to
call the family of God together tonight and deal with some very
personal and very important matters. These are things that you do
not deal with frequently. These are things that you do
not deal with in the presence of everybody, because it would
be like casting pearls before swine. But these are some things
that greatly trouble me, and these things that I'm going to
talk to you about tonight are things that I find most difficult
to understand and impossible, totally impossible, to reconcile. Now, even as I speak to you at
this moment, one of the strongest and oldest churches of our fellowship
is totally divided. Divided, I would say, without a miracle
of God's grace, divided without God personally moving in a supernatural
way, divided beyond repair. totally, totally divided. They're voting tonight to split
the church. It's one of the oldest, one of
the strongest churches, a church in which I've preached many,
many times, a church where some of my dearest and closest friends
worship, a church where the pastor has been there over 20 years. The gospel of Christ has nothing
to do with this division. This is what is sad, this is
what is tragic. I can understand churches dividing
over who God is, who Christ is. I can understand churches splitting
and dividing and going their separate ways if the question
is how God saves a sinner. But I've had people call me during
the last two weeks who are on opposite sides of the quarrel. And I believe that all of them
to whom I've spoken love the gospel, and they love Christ,
and they do or have loved their pastor. And I suspect they love
each other. But the doctrines of faith and
the gospel of Christ is not involved in this quarrel. It's all based
on personal pride and ego and divisions. And I talk to both
sides about the consequences of such a vote. I talk to them
about the cost, and they know the consequences, and they know
the cost. But neither will move, neither
will budge, neither will be reconciled. And I find that hard to understand. And I've been greatly troubled
by it. I've been burdened, burdened, so burdened about it, I don't
understand it. And they keep, they say, have
your men pray for us. What do we pray? I think when
we are divided Down here in verse 9, ye are God's
husbandry, ye are God's building. Verse 16, ye are God's temple,
though ye are not ye are the temple of God. The Spirit of
God dwelleth in you. If any man defile, the word is
destroyed, the temple of God, him shall God destroy. I've told these people and I've
talked to one minister, it's no light thing to divide
the temple or the house of God or the people of God. And then something else that
bothers me that we're going to deal with tonight, husbands and
wives, believers, both claiming to love
Christ. but who do not love one another.
I find that so difficult to understand. I find that difficult to reconcile. The Church ought to be a place
of peace and joy and harmony. The home ought to be the same
kind of place. The home ought to be a place
of love and understanding and cooperation and peace. It ought
to be a place where people dwell together, especially believers,
people who are Christians, dwell together in a spirit of unity
and real happiness. It ought to be a haven from the
world of hard work and toil and trial and burden. But many church
homes are places of quarreling and fighting. and unpleasant
to everybody, rather than exercising patience
and forgiveness and love toward one another. So-called Christian believers
talk of divorce, and they often go that route, and I don't And I find it difficult to reconcile
with a profession of faith or to reconcile with the Word of
God. How can I be a man of faith if
I'm not a man of peace? How can you be a woman of faith
and a woman in whom Christ dwells and you can't get along with
your neighbors and with your husband and with your children? And then another thing that bothers
me a great deal, young people who claim to be converted to
Christ, they claim to love Christ and the gospel, are rebellious
towards their parents, and they have hateful attitudes, and they
are resentful toward their parents, and they are uncooperative in
the home, they are lazy, and they bring sorrow and heartache
to their parents. And these young people can find
no fellowship with their parents who love the gospel, but they
can find fellowship with other people and other young people
who hate the gospel. I find that hard to reconcile. And then another thing, brethren
and sisters who have worshiped together, and I'm not talking
about brothers and sisters in the flesh, I'm talking about
brothers and sisters in the gospel. who have worshipped together
for years and prayed together, and who have been dear and beloved
friends, allow one misunderstanding or one disagreement to divide
them. And they pout, and they fall
out, and they won't speak to one another, and they become
critical of one another. And they often allow these hurt
feelings to keep them from the house of God. In other words, if someone who
has in the past been a beloved associate and a beloved friend
gets mad at me, he won't worship God. Or he gets mad at one of the
church officers or gets mad at one of the fellow worshipers
and just quit going to the house of God. I can't reconcile that. I believe friendship ought never
to be broken. I believe love ought never to
cease. I believe rather than growing
strained, it ought to grow strong and stronger and stronger. Now, some preachers and theologians
are quick to relegate these offenders, these who divide churches, these
people who fall out over petty quarrels and divisions and husbands
and wives that fuss and fight and quarrel and can't get along,
children that are rebellious and offensive and uncooperative. Some preachers and theologians
are quick to relegate these offenders to the pits of the or to the roles of the unsaved.
Well, you're just not saved, you're just not saved, you're
just not saved. That word is handled as lightly
and easily as it is to get into that sort of thing. I believe
in some cases this may be so, but certainly not in all. I believe
in the case of the Church, which I mentioned a moment ago. These
are people that I've associated with and loved and they're my
friends and they I believe they know Christ, I believe they love
Christ. I believe the Apostle Peter loved
Christ as he said he didn't know him. The errors and the faults of
Bible characters reveal to us our own potential to sin. I think that's the reason God
put these illustrations in his word, to point out to us not
just the good things about Abraham, but the weak points about this
blessed man. Not just the strength of David,
but the weakness of David. Not just the power of the Apostle
Peter, but the frailties of the Apostle Peter. Now, it may be that some have
missed Christ. I'm sure some have. Because our
Lord said, Many shall say unto me in that day, Lord, have we
not preached, and we not done many wonderful works? And I shall
say, I never knew you. I never knew you. But sometimes true believers
behave like unbelievers. Did you know that? I think sometimes
true believers, those who love Christ, Behave like people who
do not know Christ. Like Paul said in our text, you
act like carnal men, natural. The word carnal is natural or
fleshly. You're acting like people of
the flesh. You're not acting like Christians.
You're not acting like believers. You're acting like carnal, natural
people who do not know God. That's the way you act. And I believe that Paul rebukes
us. And I think he points out four
reasons for unchristian attitude and unchristian behavior. And
I hope that you look into these four things tonight and we'll
try to do something about it. Now, I know that God is sovereign.
I know that he has a purpose in all things. I know that even
the wrath of man will praise the Lord. And God's mercy is
going to be exalted in a revelation of his grace. And God's justice
is going to be exalted in a revelation of his wrath. But I don't want to be over here. And I may be an instrument in
the hand of Satan, the Apostle Peter went that route. Our Lord turned to him one day
and said, Get thee behind me, Satan, thou savour'st not the
things that be of God. That apostle was an instrument
in the hand of Satan. He said, Peter, Satan hath desired
thee that he might sift thee as wheat. And I may, I may be
an instrument in the hand of Satan to divide my home, or to
divide this church, or to divide beloved friends. I pray not,
but there's a possibility. I hope not, and I know that even
that horrible experience would be used to accomplish God's purpose. But I don't want to go that route.
I don't want to preach to others and then become a castaway. I
believe we have a responsibility, believers have a responsibility. We not only believe in God's
sovereignty, God, the God of the gold and the Ian, but God,
the God of the means. And God left, he gave an example,
he left one man ten talents and one five and one one. And each
one of them but one used them for the glory of his master and
was commended. The other one didn't and he was
dealt with severely. And I believe God gives us things
in his word and from the pulpit and from these other men who
teach. And we're responsible to take
these things to our heart and do something about it. Now, after this message tonight,
if there is a point of contention between me and some other believer,
then after I hear this message tonight, I have a responsibility
to straighten that up and do it right now. If there's contention
between me and my neighbor and my friend, I have a responsibility
from this moment on to be a man of peace, tranquility, joy. If I'm causing my home, if I'm
a child in the home or a wife or a husband in the home, and
by my temper and by my harsh sayings and by my unpleasant
attitude and by my harshness of spirit, if I'm causing other
people to be unhappy, I have an obligation before God and
His Word and the Holy Spirit to do something about it right
now. To do something about it right now. If I have been given
to hurt feelings and a pouting attitude and feel like the preacher
is shooting at me or somebody else has it in for me or somebody
doesn't like me and I've got an ego problem, I have a responsibility
before God after hearing this message tonight to straighten
it up and to get off my high seat in my martyr complex, in
my complex of persecution, and get down in the place of humility
and the chair of submission. and quit looking on my own things
and began to look on the things of others. I have a responsibility to grow
in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
I'll tell you this, and I hope some of you here are ready to
join with me, I intend to do so by God's grace. I intend to
finish the course that God has planned and charted for me, bringing
some glory to his name, growing in grace, trying by his grace
to be more like the Master and less like the Puritans, and more of a heart believer
than a head believer, though you can't divide the two. If you look at verses 1 and 2
of 1 Corinthians 3, you'll see the first reason why Believers
behave like unbelievers. Here's the first reason. Here's the first reason why Believers
behave like unbelievers. Verse 1. And brethren, I could
not speak to you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto
babies, infants in Christ. I have fed you with milk. and
not with me. For hitherto you were not able
to bear it, neither are you now able." Why? Because you're a
baby. You've got to be careful what you give a baby to eat,
he'll choke on it. Not many of us can blame our
orneriness on this, because we're not babes in Christ. At least
we ought not to be. It's a shame if we're babes in
Christ after being in the gospel for 10, 20, 30 years, that I'm
still a baby. We expect young believers, they're
people who've just been converted. They've been converted six months
or a year or two years. You expect them to have these
problems of Envy and jealousy and strife and division and quarrels
and intemperance and all these things, you expect that because
they are babies. Let's look at some more scripture. Turn to
Ephesians 4. Ephesians 4, verse 11 through 15. Listen to this. You expect a baby to be that
way. Ephesians 4, verse 11. And he talked about giving, and
he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists
and some pastors and teachers. Why? For the perfecting of the
saints. That's the maturing of the saints.
That word perfecting is maturing. For the work of the ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ. That's what I'm up
here for. Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of
the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man, a mature man,
unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, that
we henceforth be no more children." Children, tossed to and fro and
carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of
men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive.
Children. That's what happens to children.
But you're not children. You folks have been saved 30s.
These people in this church fight, they've been saved some of them
30 years. They've been deacons 25 years. They've been preachers
20, 25 years. You've married folks, you've
been married 20 years. Y'all ought to, well you ought
not ever quarrel hardly. That's right, hardly ever. We
laugh about it. It's not a laughing matter. It's
not a laughing matter at all when two people who live together
and both of them claim to love Christ can't speak civilly and
calmly and sweetly to one another but spend their time arguing.
That's something wrong. Somebody's missed something. They expect babies now. These
young married couples are going to have their rifts and they're
going to go over the rocky waters and so forth, you know. This
ought not to be, you folks that aren't children. Turn to Hebrews
5. Look at this, Hebrews 5.12. For when for the time you ought
to be teachers. You've been saved long enough
to be a teacher in the scripture. You have need that one teach
you again, which be the first principles of the articles of
And have become such as have need of milk, and not strong
meat. Everyone that useth milk is unskillful
in the word of righteousness. He's just a baby. Just a baby. Now brethren, we're warned in
the scripture, and there's some folks at churches that hadn't
learned this, some preachers that hadn't learned it, we're
warned in the scripture about putting new believers in positions
of authority and positions of leadership and responsibility.
I want to show you two scriptures, 1 Timothy 3. The reason Paul
warns about this is because you expect babies to act like babies. And you can't afford to have
a baby in a place of authority, a place of leadership, a place
of responsibility. You've got to have a man who
has his feet on the rock, who has his confidence strong in
Christ, who cannot be swayed, and who does not always change,
change, change, always drifting, drifting, drifting, always going
a new route. That's being driven by every
wind, you see, that comes along. You can see why Baby would do
that. But a man who has been in Christ and who is mature in
Christ is a man who moves like God moves, slowly, slowly, and
acts slowly and speaks that way. His decisions come that way.
Children act abruptly, impulsively. The reason you don't want to
ordain him, you don't want to put him in positions of authority. It says in 1 Timothy
3, this is a true saying, if a man desires the office of a
bishop, he desires the good work. A bishop then must be blameless,
the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, good behavior, given to
hospitality, apt to teach, not given to wine, no striker, not
greedy or filthy lucre, but patient, not a brawler, not covetous,
one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in
subjection with all gravity." If a man doesn't know how to
rule his own house, how can he take care of the Church of God?
Verse 6, "...and not a novice," that's a person who has newly
come to the faith, "...lest, being lifted up with pride, he
fall into the hands of the condemnation of the devil." In 1 Timothy 5, verse 22, listen
to this, he warns the Church about this. Lay hands suddenly
on no man. Lay hands suddenly on no man. Now this is one of the reasons
why believers act like unbelievers, because they're babies. And I
have no quarrel with infants in Christ. My quarrel is with
people who have been saved 20 years and are still acting like
infants. That's where the quarrel is. Something to me is wrong. That we who have been believers
ten years or many years, who ought to be growing in grace,
who ought to be teachers, have need of milk, and who ought to
be settled, people that folks can lean on us and look to us
and trust us and depend upon us. And we let them down because
we fluctuate. Secondly, look at verse 3 of
1 Corinthians 3. Here is the other reason why
believers act like unbelievers. Verse 3, because they are carnal. You are carnal, he said. That
word carnal is natural, according to the way that natural men do
things. Whereas there is among you envy
and strife and division, are you not carnal? Now I want you
to listen to the Amplified Version. I recommend the Amplified Version
for study. I do not recommend that you use
it in the Church, because most everybody's got a King James,
and you read out of another translation, they're sitting there with their
King James, and they can't follow. Everybody's going to use an Amplified,
all right, but if everybody's going to use a King James, let
everybody use the same one. But the King James is still the
best translation. Put your King James down and
your Amplified right beside it. Now look at King James one more
time. He says, You are yet carnal, for whereas there is among you
envy and strife and divisions, are you not carnal? Do you not
walk as men? Now listen to the Amplified.
For you are still unspiritual, having the nature of the flesh.
You're under the control of fleshly or ordinary impulses. For as
long as there are envyings and jealousy and strife and factions
among you, are you not unspiritual? Are you not of the flesh? Are
you not behaving yourselves after human standard? You're not acting
like God's people, you're acting like natural people. And you're
acting like, watch this, mere unchanged, unchanged people. Now, I don't need to dwell on
this subject very long. I think you and I know when we're
behaving like unbelievers. The flesh says, get even. The
spirit of God says, forgive, be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another. The flesh says, treat people
rough. Make them walk the line. Grab them by the lapel of the
coat and let them know who's bought. The Spirit of God doesn't
say that. The Spirit of God talks about
kindness, tenderheartedness. The flesh says, well, resign
and quit. If folks don't appreciate you,
quit. Walk out. See if they can get along without
you. The Spirit of God doesn't say that. Spirit of God says,
continue in the faith. Spirit of God says, argue. The
flesh says, argue. The Spirit of God says, turn
the other cheek. The flesh says, divide. The Spirit of God said,
how blessed it is when brethren dwell together in unity. That's
not down there when they're voting down there tonight. That's not
the Spirit of God. God's not in there. I've told
them that too. God's not in there. The Spirit
of God doesn't vote to divide. The Spirit of God says how blessed
it is when brethren dwell together in unity. The flesh says, hate your enemy.
God says, love your enemy, pray for him. The flesh says, slander
and gossip. The Spirit of God says, speak
not evil, brethren, one of another. I like this verse Cecil read
a while ago in the study. Turn to Proverbs 17. Proverbs
17, let me show you a verse over here. In Proverbs 17, verse 9,
listen to this. He that covereth a transgression
seeketh love. He that repeateth a matter separateth
very friends. Isn't that beautiful? Our Lord
Jesus Christ was so so gracious and such a person of compassion
that people are attracted to him. They like to be around him. Religious people today, the average
religious person, does not attract people. He repels. And there's something
wrong with that. And what is the problem? All right, the third reason why
believers act like unbelievers, number one, because many of them
are babes in Christ, number two, because they try to do things
like natural men do, not like Christ would do it, not like
the Spirit of God tells us to do it. Soft answer turneth away
wrath, grievous word stirreth up anger. We know those things
up here. We know those things up here, but we don't know them
down here. And here's the third reason, turn to Philippians 2. In verse 20, Paul says this,
I have no man like-minded. Now this is something, you look
at this, Philippians 2.20, I have no man like-minded who will naturally
care for your state, who really cares for you. Now you think
about that now. Paul said, and we'll read that
next verse to me, Paul said, I'd send somebody down there
to help you. I'd send somebody to aid you. But I don't have anybody that
really, that really cares for you. For all, verse 21, seek their
own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's. This is a downfall
of homes. This is a downfall of churches.
This is a downfall of friendships, relationships. It's selfish,
egotistical, greedy. I hate to say believers because
those things don't fit believers, does it? That sort of thing and
godliness are opposites. In fact, hold that place right
there and turn to 1 Corinthians 13. In 1 Corinthians 13 it says,
verse 5, Love, 1 Corinthians 13, verse 5, does not behave
itself unseemly, seeketh not her own. Now, the only way that two people
can live together as husband and wife It's for them not to seek their
own way and demand it, but to have a spirit of understanding
and cooperation and grace so that you seek the way and desire
and the happiness and pleasure and satisfaction and comfort
of the other person. And in giving, you receive. And in making a person happy,
you get happiness. Now, children don't understand
that, because infants don't understand that. But you're supposed to,
because the Scripture says it's more blessed to give than to
receive. As you would that men should do to you, do you even
so there. If you want somebody to browbeat you and argue and
quarrel at you all the time and give you ulcers, then you do
that. But that's not what you want.
Then why do you do it? And the only way a church can
dwell together in unity is for pastor and people and deacons
and officers and everybody in the church not to seek my way
and my goal and my pleasure and my comfort and my recognition
and my idea, but to seek yours. Love, seek it, not our own. Now
there's more to turn to 1 Corinthians 10. There's more to this thing
of salvation than just believing some doctrine. There's more to
salvation than just accepting Jesus. There's more to salvation
than this thing of just getting right with God and living a moral
life and going to heaven while I make a lot of people live in
hell on my way to heaven. That's not it. And I'm afraid
some folks have missed it. They've taken the Ten Commandments
and the Cross of Calvary and they've established them a little
doctrine and they're so unlike Christ It reveals, tragically, that
many never have met him. In 1 Corinthians 10.24, let no
man seek his own. His own what? Well, his own joy,
his own comfort, his own satisfaction, his own pleasure, his own way. But every man another's. Wouldn't
that be something? Wouldn't that be something? What
do you want to do? Now, we're going to do what I
want to do. We're going to go where I want to go. We're going
to do this my way or we're not going to do it. Now, you may
think that is spiritual authority, but that's ungodliness is what
it is. It's selfishness, it's ego. And Christ has nothing to
do with that type of attitude. Well, my way is right. Well,
it may not be. A natural man's life revolves
around his own self. A Christian's life does not revolve
around himself but others. That's what the scripture teaches.
I may not manifest that, and you may not manifest it as we
know it ought to be manifested, but still that's so. I may reveal by my selfishness
and by my attitude that I've missed Christ, but that's still
the way of Christ. That's still the way of Christ.
And that's still the way of joy, and that's still the way of happiness,
and that's still the way of peace. This Church will never divide
as long as we seek the things of Christ and the things of one
another. There will never be slander, gossip. There will never
be accusations. There will never be hurt feelings. Never! You don't hurt a man's feelings
when you're trying to make him happy. You don't hurt a woman's
feelings when you're trying to bring them joy. When you're trying
to serve, when you're trying to make them comfortable and
happy and those things, you don't divide then. You divide when
you begin to seek your own. There cannot be two masters,
there cannot be two ways, there cannot be two wills. So all of
us subject our will to his will. And then the fourth reason why
believers act like unbelievers, number one, they're babies, Paul
said, they're infants, they haven't grown up, they haven't matured,
novices. Number two, they're carnal, they're
acting like natural men. They're trying to do the things
of the Spirit in the flesh. It's not by might nor by power,
force, authority, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. And then they're
seeking their own. That's just all there is to it.
They're not seeking the joy of other people. They're not seeking
the happiness of other people. They're not seeking the things
of Christ. They're seeking their own. Seeking their own. And fourthly, they just don't
care about the glory of God. That's sad. The ultimate goal of every person
in this building, this preacher, and every one of you, the ultimate
goal, man, woman, boy, girl, the object, the goal of every
person is what? To glorify God. I believe that.
To glorify God. The chief end of every man is
to glorify God. And this object, if correctly
viewed, and determined will bring forth growth and fruit in your
life. If you and I can properly understand
this and properly commit ourselves to it, not the accomplishment
of some enterprise on this earth, unless it be for the glory of
God. Now, for the glory of God, I
want it to be a happy place. I want people to come in for
them to feel that it's a happy place, that they're welcome,
that there's joy there and there's peace and there's happiness.
For the glory of God, that's the chief end. I want to keep
it together for the glory of God. And your home, keep them
together for the glory of God. It's a reproach on the name of
Christ when Christians divide. When husbands and wives, they
fight with one another, and other people witness it, and they notify,
they say, well, how can these things be? This is not the way
Christ would. Is this Christianity? While we
are children of darkness, and we're happier than you are, we're
children of wrath, and we're happier than you are. We're unbelievers,
and we're happier than you are. What do you have that we don't
have? It seems that our satanic ways are better than your Christian
ways. Isn't that right? And then churches, when people
come in here, they ought to feel the presence of warmth and fellowship
and love and happiness. When new believers come in, they
ought never hear criticism of the pastor and criticism of the
church and criticism of other members. It ought to be a place
where God's glory, and that doesn't bring glory to God. When we're
divided, it brings reproach on the name of Christ. Same thing
in your social life, in your dealing with other people. My
general attitude and conduct is also the way that you handle
an obligation. Say you've got an obligation
at a store or with a business, the way you handle that either
will bring reproach on the Lord or glory to his name. You see
what I'm saying? And what we ought to do is conduct
our words and our attitude and our lives and our churches in
such a way that God gets the glory. Not us. Not us. Don't want people brawling,
they're a good little Christian. We let them know we're the chief
of centers. We're frail flesh just like you are. We're subject
to fall like anybody else, but we want to glorify the Lord Jesus.
They don't want to bring reproach on his name. Let me read you
two or three verses, and I won't preach too long, I'll let you
go. Colossians 3. Let's look at Colossians 3.17. And whatever
you do, in word or deed, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. What has
he been talking about? He's been talking about forgiving
one another. He's been talking about loving one. If any man,
look at verse 13, have a quarrel against somebody, forgive him
like Christ forgave you. Verse 14, put on love. Verse
15, let the peace of God rule in your heart. And then he said,
whatever you do in the Word of Death, do it for the glory of
God. Do it for the glory of Christ. Do it in the name of the Lord
Jesus. Now look at 1 Corinthians 10. 1 Corinthians 10. Now here's a case in which fellow
got invited to dinner, and somebody there said, well, that meat was
bought down at the shambles, down at the marketplace, and
it was sacrificed to idols. That meat was bought cheap because
it was meat sacrificed to false gods. And I can't eat it. I just can't eat it. Now, you're
a strong believer, and you know meat. There are no false gods.
There's just one true God, just one living God. And that meat
wouldn't make any difference to you, whether it's sacrifice
to Baal, or Beelzebub, or some false deity, it's just meat,
it's just one living God, and you could eat it very well. But
this man, it bothers him. So look at the scripture. He
said in verse 28, If any man say to you, this is offered in
sacrifice to idols, don't eat it for his sake that showed it
to you, for conscience sake. Earth is the Lord's and the fullness
thereof. Conscience, not your own conscience. Somebody says,
let conscience be your guide. No, not your own, but the other
fellow's. Why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience?
If I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that
for which I give thanks? Whether therefore you eat or
drink or whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. If the
fellow objects to it, leave it alone. Don't antagonize it. Don't hurt the weak brother.
Do whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. If that meat
abstains from that particular thing, if it offends your neighbor
for you to take a drive on Sunday, and he knows you're doing it,
and he's a weak believer, and he's offended by it, don't do
it. Don't deliberately hurt him. Whatever these... I know your
life can't be put in a straight jacket by everybody around you.
But if you know a particular thing is offensive to a genuine
believer, then you can leave it off. Let not your liberty
destroy the confidence of another. And then 1 Peter 4, 11, that's
for the glory of God. A thing might be difficult for
us, but for the glory of God we can do it. It may be difficult. A husband may say, well, you
don't know how my wife antagonizes me. All right, but for the glory
of God you can do it. You can make your home a place
of peace. Well, you don't know how this fellow, he just seems
like down there where I work, he just seems like he takes pleasure
in gouging me. Well, still, we can do a lot
of things for the glory of God, can't we? We can do a lot of
things for the glory of God. And that's supposed to be our
goal, the glory of God. And then 1 Peter 4, 11. Look
at this. Any man speak. Now look back
at verse 10. Every man hath received the gift,
even so many are the same to one another. We have different
gifts in this church. We're a body. Christ is the head. But there's some in this church
who have the gift to speak. Some in this church have the
gift to pray. Some in this church have the gift to assist in other
ways. Some have the gift to give. Some
have the gift to do other things, the instruments, the music, to
bear up the believers and the preacher in prayer. There are
just a lot of gifts. Well, whatever your gift is, minister the same
one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
And if any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.
If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which
God giveth, that God in all things might be glorified. Now, brother, that's a tall order,
isn't it? Am I preaching or teaching or singing or giving or witnessing
or praying? But whatever I'm doing, whatever
contribution I'm making to the body of Christ, am I doing it
for the glory of God? The glory of God. Is that my
chief aim? Why do believers walk like unbelievers? We could all say tonight, I don't
intend to walk like an unbeliever anymore. I don't intend to conduct
myself like an unbeliever any longer. I intend in my church
and in my home and in my business and in my private life and in
my social contact, I intend for the glory of Jesus Christ to
glorify my God. I've just got one life to live.
And I want to be able to say with the Apostle Paul, the time
of my departure is at hand. I've kept the faith. I've finished
my course. Henceforth is laid up for me
a crown of righteousness. I'm going to begin at this moment.
I may fail and fumble and stumble, but I'm going to make an effort
to glorify God and to build a testimony to the glory of God, to the praise
of his grace. Our Father in Heaven, we are
thankful for your Word. We believe that thou hast spoken
to us tonight. We love thy Word, we love thy
Son. We boast not our Father, but
thou knowest our hearts. Christ is our foundation and
our hope. We pray that he may be glorified in our conversation,
in our behavior. O Lord, enable us to to show
forth the praises of him who called us out of darkness into
his marvelous light. How blessed, how blessed, how
happy, how sweet and precious it is, the unity of spirit and
unity of hearts of those who love Christ. Grant, O Lord, that
we shall seek not our own, but the things of Christ and the
things of others. For we pray it in his name and
for his sake. Amen.

Believers Behaving Like Unbelievers

What does the Bible say about carnal believers?

How do we know that believers can behave like unbelievers?

Why is seeking unity important for Christians?

What should Christians do when they have conflicts with others?

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Believers Behaving Like Unbelievers

What does the Bible say about carnal believers?

How do we know that believers can behave like unbelievers?

Why is seeking unity important for Christians?

What should Christians do when they have conflicts with others?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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