Exhortation: Admonish the Disorderly

Introduction: The Theme of Pleasing God and Mutual Responsibility

0:02 I would encourage you to turn in your own Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 as we continue our studies in this letter of the Apostle Paul to this infant church of the Thessalonians filled with so much practical instruction for the life and ministry of the church. Beginning in chapter 4, the Apostle announces his general theme which goes straight through to the end of chapter 5, namely, he is writing that they might know how they should please God. He knows that there is no higher motive to hold before the child of God than the prospect that he can actually please and bring delight to God. Just as there is no higher, more powerful...

0:57 motive to the heart of a child who loves his father or mother than to appeal to him in terms of these words, son, daughter, to do this will please your daddy. A loving son, a loving daughter needs no higher motivation and so the Apostle sets before these Christians these different ways in which they could please the Lord if they would...

1:27 take his exhortations to heart. Last week, we studied verse 12, a verse in which the Apostle sets before the rank and file of the people of Thessalonica within the church, their responsibility to their spiritual leaders. He says that their duty toward their spiritual leaders, those who are over them in the Lord and admonish them, is, first of all, to know them, that is, to regard them with special affection, secondly, to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake, and then their indirect responsibility, he says, be at peace among yourselves. Seek to maintain a climate of peace and tranquility in order that those who are over you in the Lord may not have the terrible, terrible problem of seeking to administer spiritual...

2:28 truth and rule in a context of conflict and of dissension. Now, lest they should misunderstand and think that, well, since there are men over us to admonish us, therefore we have no responsibility one to another, he immediately follows this directive concerning their attitude to spiritual leaders with an exhortation concerning their own...

2:59 responsibility one to another in this very area of admonition, one believer of another. And so we come then to the exhortation of verse 14, which will be the focus of our study this morning, and we exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly, encourage the faint-hearted, support the weak, be long-suffering toward...

The Nature of the Exhortation: Author, Objects, and Form

3:29 all. Now, in the first place, consider the nature of this exhortation. What is this exhortation? How does it come to the people there at Thessalonica?

3:43 In the first place, consider its author. From whom does this exhortation come? As the people sat there in the church of the Thessalonians, and one of their elders stood to read this letter from the apostle, he, in the introduction, identifies himself and his companions as the author. So, as they sit and listen, they should regard this exhortation as the word of the apostle Paul.

4:10 But listen carefully. If that's all they regarded it, they missed the whole intent of it. For the apostle Paul began this section of exhortation in chapter 4 by reminding them that when he spoke as a commissioned representative of Jesus Christ, he spoke, as it were, in the very room and stead of the Lord Jesus, the head of the church. For notice how he begins the exhortations in chapter 4, verse 2.

4:43 For you know what charge we gave you through the Lord Jesus. Verse 1, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus. And that little phrase means nothing more nor less than this. We speak as those who are commissioned by him with all of the authority that he has invested in us as his commissioned representatives, his apostles.

5:13 He repeats this thought in his second letter, chapter 3, and verse 12. We say that as Christians, we trust in the Lord Jesus. We have a relationship to him as our prophet, our priest, and our king. Every time we meet, he is the central figure of our worship.

5:36 He ought to be. When I confessed our sins in our pastoral prayer this morning, if you were truly worshiping Christ as your priest, your heart amened my words. As I confessed to him our corporate sins, you approached the Lord Jesus as your priest. And you consciously looked to him for forgiveness and for cleansing, for the sins of indifference and carelessness and love of ease.

6:09 So if your heart went out as I prayed, you have been acknowledging Christ in the midst as your priest. And every time a servant of God opens the scriptures and accurately expounds and applies the scriptures, you should be consciously recognizing the Lord Jesus in your midst as your prophet, declaring to you the mind and will of God, and as your king, demanding your obedience.

6:39 We must be reminded of this continually. For as I listen, and it's wonderful what you can learn by listening as well as by reading, I am convinced that the rank and file of professing Christians do not regard the exposition of scripture by their teaching ruling elders as an exercise of the prophetic, the prophetic office of Jesus Christ. For the attitude with which they sit not as disciples of the truth, but as pickers and choosers of the truth, indicates that they are not acknowledging Christ in the midst as prophet. How does he exercise his prophetic office?

7:21 Is he pleased to split the heavens with thunder as he did at Sinai? And in the silence following the rumbling of the thunder, split the heavens with that mighty voice that spoke upon Sinai and say, I command you, admonish the disorderly. He doesn't do that. What does he do?

7:43 He takes weak, fumbling, stumbling fellow sinners, whom in some measure he has equipped in both gifts and graces, and sets them in our midst as teaching elders to open up the scriptures. But what does he do? But when he speaks in that manner, he is no less exercising his prophetic authority than if he were to split the heavens with his direct voice. Amen.

8:13 No less. Ah, but someone says, oh, pastor, you mean to tell me, if all of a sudden you stopped and we heard a voice that we knew came from nowhere but heaven, we wouldn't respond to that voice with more carefulness than we respond to yours? I mean to say precisely that. And I have scripture to back it up.

8:35 You remember there was a man in hell? And he said, oh, God, oh, Lord, I'm in torments and I don't want my brothers to come here. I want the dead to warn them. If only your voice will come in a spectacular way.

8:50 They'll listen. What did Jesus say? Or what did Abraham say? They have Moses and the prophets.

8:58 They have the written word. If they won't bow to the authority of the written word, no one will ever bring them to subjection. They will not hear, though one should rise from the dead. Oh, dear ones, do we really believe and do we sit with the attitude that this is the Lord Jesus exercising his prophetic ministry?

9:29 The author of the exhortation that I'm going to attempt to expound this morning is not Paul, ultimately. And certainly it is not Pastor Martin, in any measure. But it's Jesus Christ himself. The great prophet, priest, and king of his church.

9:50 So much for the author of the exhortation. Who are the objects? To whom does it come? Well, he tells us.

9:56 Notice. But we exhort you, brethren. There are some commentators who try to apply this exhortation exclusively to the spiritual overseers. They reason this way.

10:12 In verse 12, Paul tells people, verses 12 and 13, what their attitude and responsibility is to those that are over them in the Lord. Know them, esteem them, be at peace among yourselves. Then he turns and he says to those overseers, now your responsibility to the people is to admonish them, to comfort them, and to support them. Well, that sounds like good reasoning.

10:38 There's only one problem. The Holy Ghost was careful to put a word at the beginning of the exhortation to clear away any such idea. For he says, and we exhort you, brethren. Who are the brethren?

10:54 Well, unless the context forces us to any other conclusion, the brethren are the same group that he addressed in verse 12. But we beseech you, brethren. Who are they? All of the saints that comprise the church of the Thessalonians.

11:09 The brethren are not common brothers in Adam, but common brothers in Jesus Christ. Those who've experienced the effectual calling of God, have been brought out of darkness into light, have openly confessed Christ in baptism, which is the badge of membership in the New Testament church, and they have been gathered together as a community of believers, and they have this precious title given to them, brothers. Jesus Christ, their elder brother. They, brothers, one of another.

11:44 And so this exhortation comes to every one of us within the family of God. And I'm convinced that the very reason he put this word brethren in here by the direction of the Holy Spirit is to completely and forever sweep away the idea that because those that are over us in the Lord, admonish us by virtue of their office, notice how he described them, the end of verse 12, know them that labor among you, over you in the Lord, and admonish you. That because there are some who admonish us by virtue of their office, we therefore have no responsibility to admonish one another by virtue of a responsibility to each other in the context of the church of Christ. This idea is forever slain by a text like this. No, the elders admonish with special authority and office-bearing power, but all the brethren in love and in concern are to admonish one another. Who then is the author of the exhortation?

The Authority of Christ and the Test of Love

12:54 The Lord Jesus himself. Who are the objects to whom it is directed? All of the brethren. Thirdly, what's the form of the exhortation?

13:03 We're just looking at the nature of it now. We haven't even got to the words. What is the nature of it? What is the form in which it comes?

13:10 It comes with four imperatives. Each of these words is in the imperative mode. It comes as a command. Here it is.

13:20 Admonish. Literally translated, continue to admonish. Continue to encourage. Continue to support.

13:31 Continue to be long-suffering. Four imperative verbs form the backbone of this exhortation. They come as commands addressed to the understanding and to the will. But commands from your gracious Redeemer Lord.

13:52 And what a difference it makes when you recognize that. Who is giving the exhortation in the form of a command? Christ, my prophet and my king. The one I've embraced is my only hope of life and salvation.

14:05 For time and eternity. He now is giving me gracious commands that I might know how to please him and to bring delight to him. Child of God, your love is going to be put to the test this morning. You say you love the Lord Jesus in sincerity and in truth.

14:27 He's going to put your love to the test. For he says, He that loveth me keepeth my words. He that loveth me not, keepeth not my sayings. John chapter 14.

14:41 He that hath my commandments and keepeth them. He it is that loveth me. John 14, 15. 15, 14.

14:47 Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you. Indicating if we don't have an attitude of universal subjection to the commands of Christ, we're not his friends. Your love is going to be put to the test. Christ, your prophet, is going to command you to a specific duty this morning.

15:06 Child of God, your love is put to the test not only toward your Savior, but to your brethren. For everything that he commands the brethren to do to one another, whether it's admonishing the disorderly, whether it's encouraging the faint-hearted, supporting the weak or being long-suffering, is for the good of the brethren. And so the first table of the law is put to the test. Do we truly love God?

15:32 Do we truly love our brethren? We love God and our brethren, no more than we are willing to honestly face the implications of a passage such as the one set before us. And for you who are strangers to the grace of God, and yet you're not quite convinced that you're as bad as the Bible says you are. The Bible says your heart, when you pull away all the veneer of respectability, is a heart that seethes with enmity against God.

16:00 You don't believe that, do you? You say, well, if I hated God, why would I be here this morning? The Word of God says the carnal mind is enmity against God. It is not subject to the law of God.

16:12 Do you want an honest picture of what your heart is like? You watch your reaction to this command of God and see if you find anything in you that leaps up and says, Lord, I see the reasonableness of that. I see the sweetness of that. I see that this is part of your yoke that is easy and your burden that is light.

16:30 I see this is one of those commandments that is not grievous. You see if that's the response of your heart. It won't be. The more your mind perceives the intent of this command that comes from Christ, the more, if you are honest, you are going to have to face the fact that your heart is just what God says it is.

16:48 A seething cauldron of rebellion and enmity against Almighty God. So much, then, for the nature of this exhortation. From whom does it come the Lord Jesus as the great prophetess of His people through the Apostle and then through His servants who open His word? The objects, all of the brethren, the form, four commands.

Introductory Considerations for Applying the Exhortation

17:12 Now, let's come to the substance of the exhortation itself. And as we seek to come to grips with this exhortation, I want us to make several introductory considerations this morning that are necessary. And I do this not for filler. I've got enough material to preach for three weeks, and I don't do this, I don't mean three weeks straight, I mean three Sunday mornings straight.

17:36 But because they are necessary considerations and if we don't come to grips with these I doubt that we'll really come to grips with the intent of the exhortation, and I'm confident we won't apply it very effectively. First of all, it's obvious from this passage that the church will always have a great diversity of needs within her ranks. Paul's writing to a great church. You read the first chapter where he compliments all the different things he says, the word of God is going out from you, you're turned from God, turned to God from your idols. Everywhere I go people speak of your faith. I go into a new town and I start to open my mouth to tell them, hey, have you heard what's going on at Thessalonica? And they say, Paul, be quiet, we already heard, we know all about it. Great church!

18:25 And yet Paul knows that there will be some disorderly people, some faint-hearted people, and some weak people. He was a realist. And you and I must be realists. Sometimes when I see people get a far away dreamy look and they say, oh, if we could only be the early church. And I say, which one?

18:48 Which one? Which one? You want to be Corinth? Got a man living with his mother-in-law?

18:55 Brother's going to the local lawyer and fighting it out in court, smeared around in the local newspapers? And I say, I don't want to be that one. Well, how about Colossians? You got people saying that you don't come directly to God through Christ, there's a whole string of intermediaries, the Gnostic teaching, other people saying here's a whole big list of do's and don'ts if you're going to be a good Christian, you can't eat this kind of meat, you can't do this on this day, and you want to be Colossian?

19:24 Well, how about Thessalonian church? Well, you'd find some disorderly people there, and some weak people, and some faint-hearted. Now, one of the principles that this text teaches us, and it's necessary if we're going to come to grips with the intent of the exhortation, is that the church, this side of that burst of glory at the return of Christ, when all the true redeemed of God shall be like him and see him as he is, will always have a diversity of needs within her ranks. The apostle expects some will be disorderly, some will be weak, some will be what King James says, feeble- minded, better translated to weak-hearted. And you and I must be realists. If you become an unscriptural realist, you know it's going to happen one of two things. You're either going to completely throw over the Christian faith and be disillusioned, because you aren't long with any church when you find, uh-oh, there's some disorderly ones. Uh-oh, there's some

20:34 weak ones. Uh-oh, there's some faint-hearted ones. Well, expect them. If you don't, you'll be disillusioned and you may chuck the whole thing over, or you may do the second thing.

20:46 You'll just run around from one assembly to another, until you begin to discover the needs, and then you'll pick up camp, pitch your tent elsewhere. We've got to be realists. That's the first principle. These conditions will be present in any church. But secondly, now notice carefully, such conditions are not to be accepted as fixed and unchangeable. Oh yes, there are going to be some disorderly ones. So what do you do? You say, oh well, in the flesh, can't expect anything else. He says, not on your life. Admonish them, so that the disorderly. You got some faint-hearted? Encourage them, so that they become Mr. Great Heart. Have you got

21:35 some weak? Support them, so they become strong. See, there's your idealism. Isn't it strange how we kick between one or the other?

21:43 And I find in churches all around our country, the attitude on the one hand, of people who are utterly disillusioned, if there's any form of weakness, any form of disorder, and they're going to see the church that's perfect. Well, they end up usually with about three people in their own house, and usually it's people who have so little discernment that they can't see the faults in one another, and they end up with their own little closed, ingrown group. And it's perfect, all right, in their eyes. Woe be unto us if that's our concept.

22:15 But on the other hand, I find the second attitude, well, since you're going to have the disorderly, and you're going to have the weak and the faint-hearted, why get concerned about it? Don't rock the boat. If you start admonishing people, you may get them mad, and they'll go elsewhere. Where nobody ever admonishes them.

22:32 So leave them alone. Let the Lord deal with them. Paul doesn't say, pray for the disorderly. No, no, he doesn't say that here. He said, admonish them. He doesn't say, just hope the weak will be strong. He says, support them. And when we come to study that, Lord willing, next week, we'll see it's a strong word.

22:48 It means to attach yourself to the weak one, seeking to strengthen him. So, the first principle, the church will always have a great diversity of needs in her rank. The second principle, such conditions in people are not to be accepted as fixed and unchangeable. Now listen carefully to the third principle by way of introduction.

23:08 God expects the rank and file of believers to exercise discernment with regard to their brethren. Wait a minute, you say, doesn't the Bible say, judge not that you be not judged? To his own master a servant standeth or falleth? Isn't that what the Bible says? Yes, it does.

23:27 Romans 14, Matthew 7, starting with the second reference, moving back to the first. But wait a minute, he says to the same brethren to whom scripture addresses the words, judge not, to his own master a servant standeth or falleth, admonish the disorderly, which means the brethren have got to cultivate discernment to know who the disorderly are. And if he says, comfort the faint-hearted, you've got to be able to recognize a faint-hearted man. And if he says, support the weak, you've got to know who's weak. Now it's a terrible thing when you come to a man who's disorderly and you treat him like he's weak. The weak man, as we'll see in our studies, needs a strong man to attach himself to him as a father to a child and nurse him along, but not a disorderly man to be rebuked soundly. Now the problem is, the man who's usually disorderly, he wants people to treat him like he's weak, and he wants everybody to come and fondle him and coddle him. And he pouts when he's not treated like the weak brother.

24:35 Well you see, if you don't have discernment, see the problem? You'll be admonishing the poor weak fella and slaying him. And on the other hand, you'll be supporting that disorderly brother and chilling him with kindness. And that isn't what God says he needs.

24:51 Now if this exhortation is addressed to all the brethren, God is saying to you as brethren, you must cultivate discernment concerning these different spiritual categories. Let me illustrate. If the resident physician says to the young intern, now I want you to go through the hospital and I want you to administer sulfur to all who have this particular disease, he's saying to that fella, number one, I want you to cultivate all that's necessary to localize this disease, and I want you to know the difference between penicillin and sulfur. And that's his responsibility. Our responsibility is to know the difference between the disorderly, the weak, the faint-hearted, to know the difference between admonishing, comforting, and supporting. Otherwise, this admonition, this exhortation is utterly meaningless. Now do you see why it's vital for every true member of the church of Jesus Christ to be concerned about theology, to be concerned about scripture, to be concerned about observing the problems of the spiritual life? If it's

26:14 incumbent upon you in some measure to be a physician of others, you've got to know the maladies and know the remedies. And that's incumbent upon all of the people of God. For the exhortation comes to the brethren. Ah, but someone says, won't that be abused?

26:35 Probably will be, as long as men are sinners. Lots of God's gifts are abused. I see people obviously abusing the wonderful gift of appetite. They go around like this, digging their grave with their teeth. That doesn't mean I'm about not to eat anymore. I see people abusing their cars. Aiming that hunk of metal down the highway so recklessly, that doesn't mean I'm about to start walking. All of God's gifts are liable to abuse. And sure, you may have some who will abuse this duty, but the abuse of it does not need to mitigate our responsibility for the proper use of it. In fact, generally, a spiritual privilege is abused when it is widely neglected. There's no better way to, as it were, keep from any abuse than to fill the field with the proper plants of the use of it. Then there won't be so many weeds and nettles of the abuse of it.

27:44 And you see a church in which this duty is being properly exercised, there will be such a living example of the right use of it that anyone who makes a wrong use of it will stand out like a sore thumb and he can be dealt with. See? So I submit the third introductory principle is, God expects you, the rank and file of believers, to exercise discernment with regard to their brethren. And the fourth principle, and this sort of acts like a canopy over the whole, God has constituted you your brother's keeper.

28:18 God has constituted every believer his brother's keeper. God has constituted you this. It's not something that you, as it were, come one morning and say, Lord, I'd like to sign up for that. No, the moment God brought you to himself, he placed you into his family. And with family privilege comes family responsibility. And we live in a day that doesn't like that idea. Unless I can vote myself into my responsibility, I don't want any. Listen, dear ones, there are responsibilities imposed upon us by God.

28:52 As well as by society and every other human relationship. By the very virtue of the fact you were born on U.S. soil, there was imposed upon you certain responsibilities as a U.S. citizen.

Defining 'The Disorderly' and the Meaning of 'Admonish'

29:04 And when God brought you into his family by the birth of his spirit, and baptized you by the spirit into that one body, there is incumbent upon you a responsibility to all of the other members of the body. So much then, for these introductory considerations as we come to the substance of the exhortation, now let's look at the heart of the command, and we'll only have time to deal with the first one this morning, and here it is. We exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly. In each case, you have a kind of person described. Disorderly, faint-hearted, weak, and then you, and then last of all, the all, that includes everybody, and then you have a specific duty with reference to that class of persons. So the first thing we've got to do is analyze, describe, get fixed in our minds, what is the class of persons? Secondly, what kind of medicine does God prescribe for them? And that's how we'll work our way through the rest of the text for the remaining time this morning, and God willing, for our time next Lord's Day morning. So the first question is,

30:19 who are the disorderly? The apostle uses a very graphic term here. It's a military term. In fact, this whole section has military flavor to it.

30:30 And it's the word used of a soldier that's in the parade, and all of a sudden with everyone marching, left, right, left, right, all of a sudden this guy skips a step, and he's going right when everyone else is going left. And when the commanding officer says that we're going to move to the left, and everyone breaks rank this way, he goes to the right. He has become disorderly. The word literally means one who marches out of order or quits or breaks rank. A man who is neglectful of his duty. Now, doesn't that help you to understand who the disorderly are? Who is to be admonished? The disorderly. Who are the

31:17 disorderly? Those who break rank as the children of God. Those who get out of step with the precepts of God as they come to light in Holy Scripture. The Christian who deviates from a prescribed order as contained in Scripture is the disorderly.

31:39 Now in the second epistle, Paul applies this to a specific area. You notice in chapter 3, and I think this will help us in our understanding, of 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 of 2 Thessalonians verse 6. Now we command you brethren in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ reminding them again. This is not just the old hook-nosed apostle talking. This is Christ speaking. Withdraw yourselves from every brother that walks disorderly, and not after the tradition which they received of us. For yourselves know how we how ye ought to imitate us. For we behave not ourselves disorderly among you, neither did we eat bread for naught at any man's hand, but in labor and travel working night and day, that we might not be a burden to any one of you.

32:31 Verse 11 and 12. For we hear that some walk among you disorderly that work not at all but are busybodies. Now we command such and exhort that with quietness they work and eat their own bread. What was disorder with these brethren? Here it is.

32:51 Paul said by my example and my teaching you came to know that one of the marching orders of a Christian is this. He must not be a parasite upon his brethren. He must work with his God-given energies and time if he would have the privilege of eating. Now some of the brethren for whatever motive whether it was laziness veiled under hyper-spirituality and they said well since the Lord might come at any minute, the most important thing is not out there working in the fields to put bread on the table for mama and the kids.

33:27 But it's to retire to some secret place and wait upon God. Well instead of doing that they ended up going from house to house talking, gossiping, spreading trouble. Now Paul says they've broken ranks. They're not walking according to the prescription of our precepts and our example. That's what it meant to be disorderly. And Paul says if after admonition they don't repent, then he says to the brethren don't even keep company with them. Now this guy was not a fornicator, he wasn't an adulterer, he wasn't a blasphemer, he was someone who was refusing what we would call one area of his domestic responsibility. An area where scripture spoke clearly, but he refused to keep in step with what scripture says. Paul said

34:15 he's disorderly. Now that's a specific application of the general principle, but the principle applies as one commentator has accurately stated, I believe accurately stated, in any area where our civic, that is our responsibility to the state, our natural, our responsibility to the home, or our spiritual duty is revealed in scripture, and the child of God having been made aware of his duty in those areas refuses to skip a step and get back left when he ought to be left and right when he ought to be right. He is not to be looked upon as a weak man. He is not to be looked upon as faint hearted. He's to be looked upon as disorderly and soberly admonished. Now if that's true, and we say that the Bible is our only rule of faith and practice, brethren, this places an awful responsibility upon us. It means that when we see someone breaking rank, we are not to close our eyes to it, we are not to simply pray about it, but we have a responsibility to them. Well, what is that responsibility? It comes in the word

35:34 admonish. And what does that word mean? It means to severely warn or charge with sobriety. The whole concept of the word admonish is one that is much stronger than exhortation.

35:51 To admonish means to severely warn or charge soberly. It's the picture you see of the military officer who speaks to that soldier that steps out of rank. He doesn't say, oh, excuse me, sir, at your convenience, I would like to point out that perhaps maybe your conduct isn't quite all that it ought to be. Private! Back in line!

36:18 He admonishes him. That's the whole concept. It's got the military flavor. I didn't put it there. God did.

Applications of Admonishing the Disorderly

36:27 As he spoke through the apostle. So, the disorderly are to be beproved of their sin, warned of their danger, and pointed back into the path of duty. Admonition then becomes the means by which that believer is restored to order. Now, by way of application, let me say several things that are very vitally connected with this. First of all, peace in the church of Christ is never to be maintained at the expense of purity. Have you noticed the connection? The last command given in the preceding exhortation is this. Be at peace among yourselves. The end of verse 13.

37:16 Verse 14 starts with admonish the disorderly. And if anyone knows anything about human nature, he knows that when you start admonishing disorderly brothers and sisters, you're asking for trouble. Who are you to tell me? I'm a servant of Jesus Christ whose conscience is held captive to the word of God, fully acknowledging areas of need in my own life which I welcome you, my brother, to point out to me. In the light of the word of God, you are neglecting this area of responsibility. God says, obey every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. Here's an area where you are openly defying your responsibilities as a Christian citizen. My brother, God says to you, in this area of life, in the home, you are to love your wife as Christ loved the church. I've heard you

38:13 speak disrespectfully of her. That is sin. You're walking disorderly. You say to that woman, scripture says you're to be subject to your husband in everything as the church is subject to Christ. Here is an area where you obviously refuse to be subject. You are disorderly and I pointed out to you in the name of Christ, in the love of Christ, in obedience to Christ and I admonish you to repent. And to get back into line. And this is to be the common experience of the people of God one to another. This admonition comes to the brethren. Therefore we must never maintain the peace of the church at the expense of its purity. Do you want to have peace in a church? Just let anything go.

39:02 All over the country they have no fusses, no problems. Why? Anything goes. Nobody admonishes anyone from the pulpit down through. Anything goes. You can have peace. Sure. Like peace in a hippie community. Anything goes. No rules.

39:22 Lots of peace. No dear ones, peace must never be maintained at the expense of purity. We must have a deep love for the peace of the church but always within a context of its purity. Secondly, this text tells us that tact is never to be a substitute for obedience.

39:44 We say, well, when shall I admonish my brother or sister? How? Where? Well, those things vary and we must prayerfully consider them.

39:54 This text doesn't mean that in any situation, even at the expense of unnecessarily embarrassing the brother or sister, you come and admonish them regardless of the circumstances, who's around them, the situation. No, no, no, no. If we're actuated by love, love will dictate that we dip the sword of admonition in the oil of Christian kindness. But tact never must become a substitute for obedience. And I fear that often we as God's people, under the guise of waiting for the right opportunity to be tactful, neglect our duty to admonish one another. Thirdly, our ability to perform this duty is a practical test of our spiritual condition. How mature are you in Jesus Christ? I submit that scripture teaches our ability to perform this duty is a practical test of our spiritual state. And on what basis

40:59 do I make such a statement? Romans 15 and verse 14. And I myself am also persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye yourselves are full of goodness, that's Christian character, come to development, filled with all knowledge, that's Christian and understanding, come to development, able also to admonish one another. When character and understanding come to some measure of maturity, Paul says, here is the acid test of that, here is the expression of it, you are able to admonish one another. In other words, your character is developed sufficiently that your own life warrants your admonishing your brethren. Your own concept of love has been delivered from this tawdry sentimental slush that says, I dare not run the risk of offending my brother. No, you've been delivered from that. And your

42:05 own character in grace has developed to the place where you're willing to run the risk of a ruptured friendship for the sake of your brother's good. This is an acid test, and if that's true, dear ones, how much do we really know and experience of the grace of God? Are we admonishing one another? Are we filled with all knowledge and goodness, able to admonish one another?

42:37 One of the things that's very grievous in a pastoral situation is to have people come to you with situations in the lives of others that have not passed before your eyes. You've not seen them so that you cannot rebuke them and admonish them. Either people are careful to veil them in your presence, which is probably 90% of the case, or the relationship that precipitates this particular attitude that is disorderly and needs admonition does not happen to exist in relationship of one of the flock to an overseer. And what grieves me is I ask the question, why don't you admonish that brother or sister?

43:15 You see the issue. I don't. If I go to admonish, it's obvious that I've had my ear to the grape vine. And that's not the responsibility of an overseer, to have his ear to the grape vine.

Receiving Admonition: A Test of Grace

43:29 You see, it's because we have failed to recognize our responsibility and privilege to one another that these kinds of situations exist. This is addressed to you, brethren, to admonish one another. And this is an acid test of the measure of our growth and development as to whether or not we are able to and actually perform this duty. And then in the last place, and this is my closing word this morning, and perhaps the most searching of anything I've said, our attitude in receiving admonition is a revelation of whether or not we're in a state of grace.

44:13 When someone comes to admonish you, how do you receive the admonition? I read now from Psalm 141, which is the best commentary I know of in Scripture. There may be a better one, but it hasn't come to my light yet. Here's the attitude of a true child of God to admonition.

44:37 Notice carefully. Verse 1 of Psalm 141. Lord, I have called upon thee, make haste unto me. Give ear to my voice when I call unto thee. Let my prayer be set forth as incense before thee, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Now knowing that to worship God truly he must worship him in the context of holiness, he says, set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice deeds of wickedness with them that work iniquity. Let me not eat of their dainties. Here's a man who says, Lord, I value fellowship with you so much that I call upon you to deliver me from any sin that would mar that fellowship. Now notice the next verse. Let the righteous smite me, and it shall be a kindness. And let him

45:37 reprove me, it shall be as oil upon the head. Let not my head refuse it, for even in their wickedness shall my prayer continue. You see what he's saying? Let the righteous smite me, and I'll welcome it. Why?

45:59 Because what I want more than any thing in life is a holy walk that will give me the privilege of constant access and communion with my God. My friend, if you love holiness for holiness sake, and for the sake of enjoying communion with God, you will welcome the admonitions of your brethren. Your reflex action, because the remains of corruption are there, may be defending yourself, retaliating. Granted, that may be your reflex action, but listen carefully.

46:34 When the smoke of your own remaining corruption is died down, you'll be able to say to God and to that brother, thank you for admonishing. What is your attitude to admonition? When it comes from the pulpit, when it comes in interpersonal dealings with the saints of God, what is your attitude to admonition? When it comes from your husband, from your wife, do you bristle with self-defense and excuses for your conduct?

47:09 Or do you say, let the righteous smite me, it is oil upon my head? My friend, if you're in a state of grace, your basic attitude will be one of welcoming admonition. Given in love for your good, or even as in this case, even if it's a man who has areas of wickedness who admonishes me, he says even in their wickedness shall my prayer continue. Even if the wicked point out an area that's grieving, my God, I should welcome it because I want to please Him.

47:49 Where do we stand, dear ones? We can say we know a lot and experience a lot, but here's the test. When admonition comes, how do we receive it? May God grant such a work of His grace that we shall welcome those faithful wounds of our friends who have our good at heart in their admonitions of us. This is God's word, Christ speaking as the prophet of His people. May this day find us bowed before its authority and crying to the Lord Jesus for grace to implement in this assembly this command of Scripture that God has given us for our good and for His glory. The Lord willing next week will take up the last three imperatives, what they mean, how to perform them, and I trust that God will give us grace to walk in their light. Let us pray.