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The Fear of the Lord (Biblical Marriage Basics #1) [King’s Cross]
Christ Church on September 18, 2022
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Hospitality Without Grudging

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INTRODUCTION

Hospitality is one the central expressions of the Christian gospel, holiness, and the glory of God. Hospitality is an essential way we are commanded to love one another, and we love because God loved us first in Christ. And this is one of the central ways God has determined to proclaim to the world that the Father has sent the Son and draw the world to Himself (Jn. 17:23).

THE TEXT

“And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging” (1 Pet. 4:8-9).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Peter is encouraging Christians facing significant persecution and preparing them to face even more, and even in that context he encourages them that at the top of their list of things to do needs to be fervent, constant, earnest love for one another (1 Pet. 4:8). And the reason he gives is that love covers a multitude of sins (1 Pet. 4:8). This “covering love” both builds true unity, but it also ministers real holiness. And the particular application is to practice hospitality with one another without grudging, without complaining, without bitterness (1 Pet. 4:9).

WHAT IS HOSPITALITY?

The word translated “hospitality” is literally “love of strangers,” but given the context here and elsewhere, it clearly includes anyone you might come in contact with, especially fellow Christians in the church. Romans says something similar: “Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality” (Rom. 12:13). This is an expression of giving yourself as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1), humility — thinking highly of others first (Rom. 12:3), kindly affection, brotherly love, honoring one another (Rom. 12:10). All of this goes back to the second greatest commandment given in Leviticus 19, explicitly extended to strangers: “But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God” (Lev. 19:34, cf. Dt. 10:19). Christian hospitality is the natural response to God’s hospitality.

Elders must be men who are “given to hospitality” (1 Tim. 3:2, Tit. 1:8). Scripture associates “strangers” with orphans and widows, the more vulnerable and needy (Ps. 94:6, 146:9). And immediately following the high call to worship God as a consuming fire, it says, “Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Heb. 13:1-2). Think of Abraham, Lot, and Rahab as examples. But Jesus says that the sheep who enter the kingdom will have received Jesus into their homes, when they welcomed strangers in (Mt. 25:35-45). All Gentiles were strangers from the covenants of promise, but are now fellowcitizens with the saints and of the household of God (Eph. 2:12, 19).

APPLICATIONS

So here is a list of scattershot principles and encouragements:

  1. Begin with those closest to you; practice small and grow. Remember that many things get easier with practice and routines. God has put people in your home, and it is hospitality to love them and care for their needs well. A man who does not provide for his own family is worse than an unbeliever, and don’t use hospitality to others as a way to avoid loving the people right in front of you. So make sure you’re on the same page as a family. Related, do not give what you don’t have (e.g. fellowship, time, money). We are called to give generously and sacrificially, but we are never called to give beyond our means (2 Cor. 8:12). But sometimes God uses needs to show you that you have more than you thought.
  2. Christian hospitality requires joy and fervency. In fact, the word Paul uses in Romans 12 he uses elsewhere to describe how he “persecuted” the church of God (e.g. Acts 22:4). When you pursue something with fervency and joy, you barely notice the obstacles and inconveniences. When you love a sport, or a vacation, or someone really important or dear to you, you are happy to endure the challenges for the sake of the gift. It should be considered a high privilege to provide food, friendship, encouragement, and hope our homes to those who bear God’s image, those for whom Christ died. Christian hospitality is always an invitation to Christ. May our congregation be known for our joyful pursuit of hospitality.
  3. The warning against grudging and complaining and bitterness is there for a reason. Hospitality takes work: being thoughtful, preparing, conversations, cleanup, dishes, and on top of it all, people can be challenging, rude, thoughtless, or just different. And this is why it says love covers a multitude of sins. Serious sin must be confronted in love, but lots of thoughtless or careless sin must be simply covered in love (and forgotten). This love also delights in and laughs at all of our cultural differences and quirks. Put away all envy, vain glory, and fleshly competitions.

Jesus is the friend of sinners, and He came eating and drinking with sinners in order to bring us home to the Father. We live in a world that claims to celebrate love, but it is an empty, hypocritical, self-serving, and conditional love. Christ has come and given Himself for us freely, and He invites us to His table every week in order to knit us together with Him in true fellowship, in order to draw the whole world to Himself.

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All of Christ

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THE TEXT:

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law,blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself (Philippians 3 ESV).

INTRODUCTION

Here at King’s Cross we have adopted the great mission statement of Christ Church as our own: All of Christ, for All of Life, for All of Moscow. We want the salvific fullness of Christ—all of His person and work—to flow into every nook and cranny of our lives—nothing untouched by Him. And we want this reality not just for ourselves, but for our whole town. All of Christ, for All of Life, for All of Moscow.

Therefore, in our church community, we put a big emphasis on living out the Christian life faithfully. We preach and teach a lot on marriage, family, Christian education, community and hospitality, evangelism, culture- building, business and finances, societal issues, and more. We want our faith to permeate everything. We want Christ to sanctify it all. We want to work hard to see his kingdom advance here and now. We want to see generational faithfulness.

However—if we are not careful, we can get this backwards. We can begin to make so much of our focus the All of Life part, leaving the All of Christ part somewhere in the distance behind. When this happens, pride creeps in and you can begin to look upon your good works, your efforts, your family or ministries, as the center of it all. Without realizing it, we can substitute the centrality of Christ with the centrality of certain convictions or endeavors – making the activity or good thing itself our focus. And so we must resist any temptation to elevate our families, our theology, our politics, our culture-building, or any other good work to a place where they begin to eclipse simple faith and trust in Christ.

We cannot let these good works, these blessings, become the things we begin to point to, in our hearts and minds, as the center of our faith and our confidence. It must be All of Christ. Christ is indeed the foundation… But He’s also what holds the whole building together. We do not move on from the person Christ. We don’t start with Christ and then move on to the work. As the Apostle Paul says in Romans, everything is from him, through him, and to him.

Christ is all in all. Christ is supreme. Christ is primary. Christ is central. And so here in his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul sets forth the knowledge of Christ as the most valuable possession in all the heavens and earth. Here Paul teaches that our greatest privilege in this life, and the life to come, is to know Christ and be known by Christ. If you were to live a thousand lifetimes you would never even get close to exhausting the riches found in Him. In fact, if you indeed are in Christ, you will one day spend forever beholding Him perfectly as He is, face to face, and yet still not come to the end of knowing Him in all His glorious splendor.

For the Christian, knowing Christ is everything. And here in this passage before us this morning, through warnings and encouragements, Paul is inviting you to imitate him in seeking to know Christ more and more—for making the knowledge of Christ as your true righteousness, your great ambition.

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Militant Hospitality

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INTRODUCTION

We live in a day when human interaction is too often mediated via screens & satellites. The scheming of wicked men aim to further isolate us, control us, and convince us it is all for our health & safety. Christian hospitality, in this era and all others, is an act of war on the rebel city of Man.

THE TEXTS

He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor (Prov. 22:9).

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares (Heb. 13:2).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The Proverbs give wisdom in riddle. The godly son is set to the task of searching out that wisdom. This Proverb offers a counterintuitive lesson. Give your bread away & receive blessing. If your eye is set on generosity, you find that by giving away your bread, blessings end up in your barn, cupboards, bed, and offspring. This is a Solomonic way of saying to save your life you must lose it, but if you lose it, you gain it. Wisdom knows that wealth isn’t increased by hoarding, but by generosity and prudent investment.

Two observations can be made about this brief admonition in Hebrews. First, Christians are told to not forget this duty. It’s easy to let days & weeks go by without opening your home to others. Thus, we’re warned of how easily we forget to wield this potent weapon. Second, this hospitality is to be shown particularly to strangers. The admonishment is to be a “lover of strangers;” exemplified by faithful saints hosting angelic messengers on significant redemptive errands.
The OT episodes in view are when the Lord Himself visits Abraham, along with two angels; Abraham responds with hasty but generous hospitality. The two angels then proceed to Sodom for its destruction; but first Lot, like his uncle, bring the angels into his home to show them godly hospitality––only later discovering their angelic nature (Gen. 18-19). Samson’s parents, likewise, spread a feast for a guest that they only later discover to be an angelic messenger announcing a miraculous conception (Jdg. 13). By hosting a stranger, the implication is that you might, though unaware of it at the time, be used in God’s providence to bring about a happy turn of history.

Putting this together, Scripture repeatedly admonishes the saints to practice a generous hospitality. In so doing we find that in giving away of our substance, blessing sneaks back in through the back door to bless not only us but the whole world.

HOSPITALITY: THE OVERLOOKED VIRTUE

Taking a step back, hospitality isn’t a peripheral activity for Christians. It isn’t an optional add-on. Throughout Scripture we are taught to practice the virtue of being hospitable to the stranger. We see this in Moses’ Law, which carved out numerous provisions for how the stranger was to be treated, and why he should be treated with generosity and charity (Ex. 22:10, 23:9; Lev. 19:10, 33, 24:22; Deu. 10:18-19). The stranger, however, wasn’t permitted to violate Israelite Law (Lev. 24:16). But he was most welcome to come in and enjoy the blessings of the covenant community whether permanently (Ex. 12:48, Num. 9:14) or only for a time of sojourning (e.g. Jethro, Naaman, Ruth).

In the NT a requirement laid on elders is that they be given to & love hospitality (1 Tim. 3:2, Tit. 1:8). Likewise, hospitality must be demonstrably present to consider enrolling a widow-indeed (1 Tim. 5:10). Saints are often admonished to remember this good work (Rom. 12:13, 1 Pt. 4:9, Acts. 20:35). Paul describes Gaius as “my host (stranger).” Apparently, hosting strangers & being hosted by a stranger were both expressions of “loving the stranger (Rom. 16:23).” In this regard, Christians endeavoring to be hospitable must learn to be both a good host & a good guest.

MARXIST MARBLES

The “pronoun-invention-Olympics” are merely a symptom of a deeper disease. Rampant individualism has so infected modern man that he’s invented new ways to be isolated. The pursuit of self-expression has entered a new mutation where whatever imagined identity someone wishes to attach to themselves must be affirmed, acknowledged, applauded. Modern man demands that society look like a Venn Diagram of a billion circles, none of which overlap, but which are all encompassed by the State.

Like the London air-raids, the Sexual Revolution, in particular, bombarded all the lawful covenantal bonds. This has left us like a drawer full of marbles, shaken by whatever whims are found in the heart of the WEF, UN, or Social Media CEOs.

Thus, Christian hospitality isn’t simply backyard BBQs. Our hospitality opens the door to isolated, lonely, wandering souls––in many cases with mutilated bodies, haunted by having butchered their offspring, and perverted with a pornified mind––into the warmth of our fellowship with God. And from that union with God, the stranger is brought into our covenantal joy in each other. Our hospitality is militant.

HOSPITALITY AS SACRIFICE

It should be noted that hospitality requires sacrifice. In the OT stories mentioned earlier, the animal was slain to feed the guests. The act of opening your home, pantry, and wine cellar is sacrificial. In the words of Charles Bridges, “Sacrifice, not convenience, is God’s acceptable service.”

However, you don’t have a right to others’ sacrifice. There’s a certain approach to hospitality that imagines that to counteract the poison of individualism all distinctions between individuals must be erased. This is what the cancer cell does. It cannot stay within the confines of its own cell walls, and must invade & overtake every other cell in the system.

Hospitality, while a sacrifice, is still a gift. As such, the glory comes from it being freely, and sacrificially, given. There’s no glory in jack-booted thugs forcing you to house enemy soldiers. But there are many instances of great saints in history who opened their homes, and the case could be made that without their sacrifice we wouldn’t know the names of men like Luther, Calvin, or Tyndale.

NUTS & BOLTS

Do you have a table? Then you can show hospitality. Find recipes that feed multitudes, that don’t break the bank, but taste like you did. Learn to ask good questions & listen intently. Remember names & backgrounds. Knock out a wall if need be. Scrounge for folding chairs by the dozen.

How the buffet line should flow in your home differs from another Christian home. The method is indifferent, but the principle is that Christian homes should be regular hubs of hospitality. This militant hospitality means your home will sometimes have folks in it who don’t have good manners, might be a bit rough around the edges, and need to be brought along firmly but gently. Remember, selfish guests & grumpy hosts are alike a perverse Gospel.

All this requires diligence, patience, and creativity. As with any skill, it takes time to get good at it. The French proverb gets the idea, “You can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs.” It’ll be messy. Stains will be left behind. But you’re waging war, what did you expect?

STRANGERS NO MORE

Paul tells the Ephesians that while they were once strangers, through the cross they are strangers no more (Eph. 2:19). Jesus tells us that by hospitality to the least of these, we feed, clothe, and serve Christ Himself (Mt. 25:40). Has Christ welcomed You to the Father’s table? Then come. Afterwards, go & imitate Your Father who opens His doors wide, piles the table high, with extra scoops of ice cream all around.

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Love Your Neighbor (King’s Cross)

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INTRODUCTION

Leviticus 19 is sometimes called the Sermon on the Mount of the Old Testament, since like the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, it is a collection of moral instructions for God’s people, including the specific command that is the second greatest commandment: “love your neighbor as yourself.” Repeated twice in this chapter, we should understand the whole chapter (and Jesus says the whole Old Testament) as a lesson on that point.

THE TEXT

“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy…”

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Since piety begins at home, God’s people are to fear their mother and their father, keep God’s sabbaths, and not turn to idols (19:1-4). When they offer peace offerings, they may only eat the feast for two days, preventing overindulgence, laziness, and greed – probably implying the need to share and be generous (19:5-8). Related, God requires business owners to leave leftovers for the poor (19:9-10). God’s people must not steal, lie, swear falsely, or rob anyone, even by being slow to pay what we owe, particularly to the poor (19:11-13). All cruelty, especially to the disabled, is condemned, as well as all injustice through favoritism or partiality (19:14-15). All gossip and slander are prohibited as forms of murder and hatred, and if you have a problem with someone, you must talk to them directly (19:16-17). God’s people are to reject all vengeance and grudges, and love their neighbors as themselves (19:18).

While mixing seeds and fabrics may have been prohibited as a sign of distinctions between Jews and Gentiles, this law also points to God’s insistence that His people not confuse and mix the “fabric” of the way God made the world, e.g. male and female (19:19). While justice is to be without partiality, God insists that those with less power (e.g. slaves) be granted greater benefit of the doubt, particularly in cases of sexual immorality (19:20-22). The people were required to trust God for the fruit of their newly planted trees, waiting until the fifth year to eat it (19:23-25). All idolatry is prohibited: whether through consuming blood, pagan hairstyles, tattoos, prostitution, or witchcraft (19:26-31). The chapter returns to where it began, reminding the people to keep sabbath, rise up before the elderly, love strangers as themselves, and keep justice, since God is the Lord and brought them out of Egypt (Lev. 19:32-37).

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF

Jesus and the New Testament writers repeatedly insist that the whole law is found in this summary: love your neighbor as yourself (Lk. 10:27-28, Gal. 5:14, Js. 2:8). This is the law and the prophets, and all the laws are summarized and fulfilled in this one: love your neighbor as yourself (Mt. 22:39-40, Rom. 13:9-10). Love is more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices (Mk. 12:29-33). This completely contradicts those who claim that the law of God is opposed to love, or that the Old Testament was not about the love of God. Love is obedience to God from the heart. But to truly understand the law of God is to see how far short we fall of God’s love.

This love requires strict justice and fairness in some matters (19:11-13, 15, 35-36), but also loves mercy and generosity (19:9-10, 20-22). Even manners are love in the little things: clothing, hair, standing for the elderly (19:19, 27, 32). Love works hard, honestly, avoiding the need to receive charity, with the goal of being able to give generously to those in need (Lev. 19:5-6, 9-10, 34, cf. 2 Thess. 3:5ff, Eph. 4:28). While civil magistrates have a duty to love God by enforcing strict justice, they have no business coercing the “love” or charity of others. Government programs and the taxation they require only robs people of the opportunity to love freely.

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

When the lawyer asked Jesus who his neighbor was that he was to love, Jesus famously answered with the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10:29-37). The striking thing is that Jesus shifts the question from “Who is my neighbor?” (object) to “Who acted as a neighbor?” (subject) (Lk. 10: 29, 36). The point is that we are required to have a certain disposition, ready to love. Notice that the so-called rule-followers (the Levite and Priest) are the ones who fail to be neighbors, and the one notorious for breaking rules (the Samaritan) is the one who loves the nearly-dead Jew. The Samaritan is incredibly lavish, and Jesus emphasizes this: bandages, oil, wine, transportation, lodging, further care, future care, and all expenses paid (Lk. 10:34-35).

Most interpreters take the Samaritan to be a type of Jesus, an outcast, come to rescue the nearly-dead human race in Adam, which certainly works. It may also be the case that Jesus intends to be prefigured in the stripped, beaten, and robbed man among the thieves, setting the goal of neighbor-love as ultimately aimed at loving Him, through the least of these my brethren (Mt. 25:40). In either case, the conclusion is that in order to love your neighbor as yourself, you must reckon yourself an outsider, a foreigner, a threat, a criminal, already rejected, having nothing to lose (Gal. 2:20). In other words, love means reckoning yourself as among the rescued, as among the slaves because you were freed from Egypt (Lev. 19:34, 36).

CONCLUSIONS

As we consider our duty to love, we should remember the difference between refugees and apostles from the world. Refugees are fleeing from the world and frequently show up looking like the world, talking like the world, and full of the confusions of the world but they are teachable and hungry to learn. Apostles show up with a message from the world about how backward and narrow-minded Biblical thinking and living is. Refugees are welcome to come and learn and grow; apostles should be corrected a couple times and then not given the time of day (Tit. 3:10).

Throughout the text, the line is repeated: “I am the Lord,” and it seems that this should be taken as shorthand for the bookends: “I the Lord your God am holy” (Lev. 19:2) and “I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt” (19:36). God’s holiness is directed at saving His people, and God’s holiness is bound up with His love. But this holy love is not content to merely “affirm” anyone just as they are or in whatever they want to do or be. No, this holy love is determined to bring Christ into every moment, to see Him in those around us (however weak or foreign or unlovely) until His image emerges clearly in them. We are called to this love because it is precisely the kind of love that God has bestowed upon us.

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