Responsibilities to the World, Part 1

Driving home: Our duties to those that are without can, for the most part, be ranged under two headings, the duties of authentication and the duties of proclamation.

Martin uses the analogy of finding and authenticating an old, valuable coin to explain what it means to 'authenticate' something, proving its genuineness, and applies it to the church's duty to prove its identity.

Well, to authenticate something is to prove it to be genuine. Suppose one of you kids should be digging around in the backyard this spring for who knows what, and you come across a coin that looks like a very old coin, and you rub off the dirt and you wash it and you show it to your mom or dad, and your dad, who happens to be knowledgeable a little bit in old coins, gets very excited because he thinks that what you may have found was an authentic coin dating way back to early colonial American days. It'd be worth a lot of money. Some museum might want to buy it.

10:54 - 11:36 Read in full sermon

Driving home: It is no use to proclaim a message of God's saving grace that cannot be authenticated by those who profess to be the recipients of that grace.

Paul's imagery in Philippians 2:15 is connected to Jesus' words about being 'a city set upon a hill,' illustrating how the corporate life of God's people, living by His word, visibly authenticates their identity as the new humanity.

That salvation, he says, is to be one that results in such a lifestyle that the people of God are blameless and harmless children of God without blemish. A blemish shining in the midst, in the midst, not isolated from, not running in retreat from, but in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation and in the midst enough that they can be seen among whom you are seen, among whom, the crooked and perverse generation, they see your commitment to radical holiness. They see your commitment to radical Christ-likeness. And one wonders if Paul has not taken his imagery right from the words of our L...

25:41 - 26:53 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Our corporate worship and stated seasons of prayer and praise must authenticate our identity as the temple of the living God.

Martin describes the chaotic worship at Corinth as a 'charismatic free-for-all' to highlight the need for order in corporate worship, which is essential for authenticating God's presence to unbelievers.

Here the Apostle in sorting out the charismatic free-for-all that was going on at Corinth, for surely that is what we must call it, was a charismatic free-for-all. People jumping up all over the place, speaking in tongues, prophesying, women bellowing out, and men cutting them down, and it was a charismatic free-for-all. Confusion! And Paul is trying to sort all of that out and give directives.

33:14 - 33:47 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second major duty of authentication is that the church's corporate worship must prove its identity as the 'temple of the living God.' Martin uses 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 to…

He contrasts the ornate, sensual worship in heathen temples with the humble, yet audacious, claim of the church to have the living God dwelling in its midst, emphasizing that true authentication comes from God's presence, not outward show.

But if all prophesy, and there come in one unbelieving, you see, one from without has come into the proximity of the gathered church, but if there come in one unbelieving or unlearned, he is reproved by all, he is judged by all, the secrets of his heart are made manifest, and so he will fall down upon his face and worship, God declaring that God is among you indeed. Apparently he had heard that these people who met in the humblest places in stark contrast to the ornate temples raised to heathen deities, that these people claimed to have the living God dwelling among them. And while they did no...

34:08 - 35:31 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second major duty of authentication is that the church's corporate worship must prove its identity as the 'temple of the living God.' Martin uses 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 to…

The story of Ananias and Sapphira's death in Acts 5 is used as a powerful example of God's direct intervention to authenticate the church's identity as the temple of the living God, instilling fear and leading to genuine conversions.

It's not surprising then, is it, that we read in Acts chapter 5 and only in the interest of time did I not validate the first heading out of the book of Acts. The passages are there. But I do want to validate this one because it's so vital. In Acts chapter 5, this church that grew by leaps and bounds in the early days in Jerusalem soon found itself with what would have been a plague.

39:27 - 40:01 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second major duty of authentication is that the church's corporate worship must prove its identity as the 'temple of the living God.' Martin uses 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 to…

Martin uses the colloquial phrase 'No way, Jose' to illustrate the reaction of outsiders who, after witnessing God's judgment on Ananias and Sapphira, would not carelessly join the church, recognizing the seriousness of God's presence.

People said, I ain't joining that group. No way, Jose. They can have a membership drive. They can try to con us into a little syllogism of decision.

41:40 - 41:53 Read in full sermon

The point: Commit as a member of this assembly that nothing in your life will arise to erode the authentication of our identity as a living temple.

Martin shares a personal anecdote about a waiter noticing something 'different' about him and his family in a restaurant, illustrating how a consistent Christian lifestyle can provoke questions from outsiders, creating opportunities for witness.

I sat in a restaurant two nights ago with my son-in-law and my daughter. And my daughter. And we were just doing what Christians would do in a restaurant. Enjoying one another's presence.

60:35 - 60:49 Read in full sermon