Exhort One Another

In this part of the sermon: The repetition of the duty is justified by two reasons: the introduction of new practical ideas in chapter 5, and the special reference in verse 10 to believers living 'together'…

Martin uses the analogy of pre-marital counseling, where he stresses the permanence of marriage, to explain why believers should be motivated to work on their relationships with each other if they believe they will live together forever in eternity.

44. You see, when I counsel with couples prior to their getting married, one of the points I often, always press with them is this. Do you believe that this relationship into which you're about to enter is for keeps? 45.

9:42 - 9:57 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize and fulfill your active responsibility to keep your brother's head above water spiritually and to teach him how to swim effectively.

He explains that harmonious marriages don't 'just happen' but require 'long hours of sweat and talk,' 'many trips to Calvary,' and 'self-humiliation and confession,' illustrating the effort needed for any deep relationship.

in which the apostle is setting out the function of the church as a body he says that this responsibility to aid in the building up of the body is incumbent upon every single member of the body look later on in this same chapter verse 29 let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth but such as is good for here's the same word again for edifying building up as the need may be that it may give grace to them that hear every believer is responsible to guard his speech on the one hand negatively so that no corrupting influence comes forth but on the other hand

19:13 - 19:57 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize and fulfill your active responsibility to keep your brother's head above water spiritually and to teach him how to swim effectively.

Martin uses the analogy of struggling to keep one's own head above water spiritually to highlight that believers have a responsibility not just for their own spiritual survival but to help others and teach them to 'swim effectively.'

same word building up now god has repeated this injunction in order that wherever we turn in these letters of instruction the people of god might acknowledge that it is their duty it's not enough for you to keep your own head above water spiritually some of us have enough trouble just doing that and even then sometimes we wonder if we're making it we begin to spit water and we know we've gotten a few miles fulls and we feel a burning in our spiritual nostrils and weakness and wonder if we're going down under and when we're just able to keep our own head above water and keep the water out of ou...

20:35 - 21:16 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Knowledge puffeth up, but love edifyeth.

He tells a story about a Christian buying bargain meat from a heathen temple and a new convert (Mr. Smith) who struggles with the conscience implications, illustrating how knowledge can puff up while love edifies by foregoing lawful liberties.

Knowledge puffeth up, but love edifyeth. What he's saying is this. Here's a man who sees this piece of meat out there in the meat market outside the heathen temple. A half an hour before, some priest had killed this particular animal and had been offered up in sacrifice and the pagan worshipper went home and now the meat is there to be sold at a bargain rate.

37:06 - 37:29 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He uses the vivid analogy of a nursing mother, who constantly considers the effect of her food and schedule on her infant, to illustrate the pervasive, self-sacrificial concern…

Martin uses the extended analogy of a nursing mother who denies herself certain foods (like onions) and plans her schedule around the baby's needs, to illustrate the pervasive, self-denying love required to build up another's spiritual life.

As I was scratching around for a very homey illustration, one that came to my mind, and I believe it's an accurate one, is the illustration of a nursing mother. And I can speak because my wife has been that to our children, two of them. And I can remember when the little ones were being built up by the nourishment that came from her own body, how every time she sat down to eat, she had not only to think of, this, is this food legitimate, bonafide, nourishing food that tastes good to me, but she always had to think, will it have any adverse effect upon the baby? And we found out by experience t...

44:03 - 44:45 Read in full sermon