1 Timothy 5:17

Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in doctrine. For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain," and "the laborer is worthy of his wages." Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all so that the rest may also fear.

I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice. Do nothing with partiality. Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins. Keep yourself pure. No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and for your frequent infirmities. Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.

Father, pray for wisdom. We believe that all Scripture is given by inspiration from You, and it is useful for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness so that we would be thoroughly equipped for every good work. This includes this passage. So, God, I pray that You would speak, that You'd give us wisdom, understanding, and insight to make application from this passage for our lives. May we be continually transformed by the renewing of our minds to show forth what is Your good and perfect will in this world. We pray this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You may be seated.

If you ever take time to think about it, I don't think that it will take you very long to conclude that we humans are amazing beings. One of the things that is amazing about us is that we have this abiding internal drive, this desire to be pure, to be better. To my knowledge, I don't think that we see this in any identifiable way in animals. Humans have this deep desire for purification, which begs the question: why?

If you look at the various opinions and views of people regarding our deep drive to be better, to be pure, and our inclination towards morality, you will find a lot of different ideas. One popular view today, especially in a society that is increasingly naturalistic, comes from evolutionary psychologists. They theorize about how we became moral beings and why we have this drive, which is seen in every culture throughout virtually every time in recorded history.

According to evolutionary psychologists, the human brain underwent significant changes during its evolution, particularly about half a million years ago. During this period, the brain tripled in size. Most of the final evolution of the human brain, as stated by these psychologists and naturalists, took place in a part of the brain called the neocortex. This area is presumed to be responsible for many complex phenomena that set humans apart, such as perception, thought, and language. It is believed that these capabilities are necessary precursors to religion and morality within human beings.

Theories abound regarding how we developed these moral sentiments. Those who study evolutionary psychology suggest that early humans recognized the need to stay together in groups or tribes. In the pre-civil ancient world, being alone or separate made one vulnerable, and survival was unlikely. Therefore, to thrive, humans gathered in groups. As a result, through the social structures of these groups, an inclination towards morality emerged, leading individuals to work for the benefit of others.

Over time, humans developed religious rituals, rites, and beliefs to help unite these groups. This idea is put forth by scholars in academia and the social sciences today, explaining how we came to be religious creatures.

We adhere strongly to these religious rites and rituals to maintain morality within the group. If you transgress those, then you are put out from the group. To be banished from the group means you probably die, especially in the ancient world. This is why this concept is so hardwired into us. That is one of the theories that is put forth. It sounds pretty interesting. Perhaps that is how everything came to be. Anything is possible, I guess, if you look at it that way.

These theories arise to try and explain what is. The scientific method involves observing reality as it is and then trying to deduce why it is as it is. When we look at what is, we see that every single culture, as far back as we can study, in every place and at every time, has an inclination towards purity and morality. We are geared for religion. When we observe this, we must try to explain how that came to be.

Those in the circles of social sciences and evolutionary psychology believe that the origins of everything are through naturalistic processes. Therefore, we have to come up with a naturalistic explanation, a framework for how things came to be as they are. This is what we have in our culture today. We begin with a naturalistic framework: everything came to be by random chance and mutation over billions of years. We see what is, and that is the starting point from which we must figure out how it came to be.

Of course, there are other theories. If you, like me, do not see morality and the inclination towards purity and religion as merely socially derived, or if you believe there aren't adequate answers or explanations from evolution, then we might assume a different way in which these things came to be.

In modern Western culture, there are fundamentally two different worldviews. One is a naturalistic framework, where everything came to be by random chance and mutation over billions of years. The other is a theistic framework. These two perspectives are in conflict. You have probably encountered that conflict, perhaps through conversation.

With friends, family members, neighbors, and co-workers, these topics come up. Perhaps this advanced neocortex of the human brain is not a product of a naturalistic evolutionary process. Perhaps it is actually something that was designed. The inclination we have towards morality, towards purity, and the religious rights we try to adopt to bring about morality and purity may stem from the fact that we were created in the image and likeness of a God who is pure. He has called us to a morality and has written into us this inclination towards purity. That's why we have a conscience.

One of the hardest questions for naturalists to answer is the question of where the conscience came from. There are all kinds of interesting theories about that, but I would posit, in line with what the Scriptures teach, that we have a conscience and this inclination towards purity because God hardwired us to be like that. This is why every culture we see at every stage of history has oriented itself towards religion.

Of course, there are those who say that this sounds really far out, but it is certainly no more so than the alternative explanations being given to us. Both the theistic and the naturalistic frameworks that are popular in our culture are explanations trying to clarify how things came to be as they are today. Since we do not have a time machine to go back and see everything at its base level, we rely on theories.

Every human culture is religious. This is the reality going as far back as we can possibly study. Every human culture is religious, much to the consternation and disappointment of many evolutionary atheists. Religion is not disappearing; it is not even in decline when we look at the world today. I would suggest that even those who are ardently atheistic are religious in their atheism. They too have this compulsion towards purification.

In fact, if you are talking with someone who is not a believer or even a believer, and you make the statement, "You know, you're not living up to your potential; you could be better," it resonates with that inclination towards improvement and purity.

Almost without a doubt, they'll say you're right. That statement, "You're not living up to your potential; you could be better," aligns with what we innately already know. Those who are atheistic in their worldview are even bent towards a purification.

Interestingly, if you read the writings of people like Richard Dawkins, the famed atheist professor at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, he believes there needs to be a purification of all things that are bad, evil, and not good in the world. Of course, he identifies religion as that which is bad, evil, and not good. He would like to purify and get rid of religion. He is religiously committed to this endeavor, as you can see from his writings.

We are all geared this way. There is a compelling sense among humans everywhere and at all times to keep oneself pure. It is an essentially human desire to be pure. In this passage, 1 Timothy 5, Paul explicitly gives the exhortation to keep yourself pure. He is writing to his young protégé, a newly appointed ordained pastor of the church in the city of Ephesus 2,000 years ago, and he says, "Keep yourself pure."

The context of that exhortation is intriguing. It follows a word about the appointment and ordination of elders. Paul tells Timothy that he needs to appoint and ordain elders. As you appoint and ordain leaders, overseers within the church, he emphasizes the need to choose them carefully. There must be a careful process; do not lay hands on anyone hastily or too quickly.

Not only do you need to choose them carefully, but you also need to hold them to an ethically high standard, as we see in this text. Furthermore, after you have carefully chosen them, you should reward them generously. They should be given double honor. After giving this direction about appointing or choosing elders or leaders within the church, Paul says, "Do not share in other people's sins. Keep yourself pure."

This brings us to point number one on your outline: We should be careful to maintain a personal purity.

We should be careful to maintain personal purity. This statement aligns with the inclination of all human beings: a desire for personal purity and a commitment to living out a morality according to our conscience. Not only does this align with the innate drive of human beings, but it also corresponds with the teachings of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation. We see the concepts of morality, purity, and righteousness emphasized throughout the Bible.

One significant passage is found in the Old Testament, in the book of Leviticus, chapter 11, verse 44. There, God speaks and says, "You shall be holy." He then provides the standard for holiness: "You shall be holy as I am holy." The interesting thing about human beings is that we have this drive to be holy, and we often establish our standard for holiness based on what we observe in others. This can be problematic because we can always find someone who appears worse off than we are, which can lead us to feel good about our own purity, righteousness, and holiness.

Even if we struggle to find someone, we might say something like, "At least I'm not as bad as Hitler." We can dig deep if we have to, but we often look around and think, "Maybe I'm not as good as that person over there, but I'm not as bad as that one." However, that is not the standard we are given. God says, "Be holy, for I am holy."

Jesus teaches this as well. In one of His greatest teachings in the Gospels, specifically in Matthew chapters five, six, and seven, known as the Sermon on the Mount, He states at the end of chapter five, "Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect." That is a high bar and a high standard. It may be easy for me to feel righteous, moral, or perfect in comparison to others in the world. However, if we set God, who is perfectly righteous as revealed in the Scriptures, as the objective standard of morality, righteousness, and holiness, that is indeed a high bar.

Thus, God commands us to be holy as He is holy, and Jesus instructs us to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. The early followers of Jesus, the apostles, also provide exhortations toward this. For instance, Paul encourages us to keep ourselves pure, while Peter, in 1 Peter chapter one, verse 15, instructs us to be holy in all our conduct.

We should be careful to maintain purity. We have this innate drive to do so, and we have the exhortation of the scriptures to guide us. We interpret and apply this internal drive, as well as the exhortations of the holy scriptures, in various ways. Human beings have different methods of interpreting this internal drive toward holiness and applying it in their lives.

Some people believe that purity comes from purging certain things from their lives. They think that if they can just eliminate specific items, they will achieve purity. How does this manifest in 21st-century American culture? For instance, some believe that if they could just get rid of calories, carbs, and gluten, they would be better and more pure. There are indeed individuals who are quite religious about this. Have you met any anti-carb evangelists? They are out there.

Other people think that purity will come from not interacting with certain individuals or groups. They believe that if they can just stay away from, separate from, or segregate themselves from specific people or groups, then they will be pure. Frighteningly, this mindset was at the core of the Third Reich during the Second World War. The belief was that if they could purify themselves from certain people or groups, everything would be right.

Then, there are still others who argue that by not engaging with certain ideas or thoughts, they will achieve purity. This is what we are witnessing in 21st-century North American culture, particularly in the United States and Canada. The belief is that if we could just eliminate certain ideas and thoughts, we would be pure. Consequently, there is a certain kind of speech that we need to legislate against. This poses a problem for our culture, as we have enshrined in the First Amendment the freedom of speech.

There are groups that claim certain types of speech are not allowable and classify them as hate speech. They believe that if we could just get rid of that kind of speech, we would be pure and enlightened. The new holy ground for this kind of religious endeavor is the university campus.

Where we have safe spaces, there are those who say that certain kinds of speech are not allowable. We are purifying that. People become religiously ardent about this. Another way that people interpret and apply this internal drive towards righteousness is to say that purity will be found through denial. It will be found through the denial of desire and self-discipline. I can buffet my body and discipline myself to rid myself of anything that is not helpful, anything that is contaminating. We see all of these ideas in our culture in some way, shape, or form.

The exhortation of Scripture aligns with this internal drive to be pure: keep yourself pure. Of course, the simple question is how? How do we keep ourselves pure? We will address that as we go through the text in this passage. It is essential, as far as the gospel is concerned, for us to acknowledge that when we try to live according to this innate desire to keep ourselves pure and to be righteous, we will quickly come to the realization of point number two on your outline: we are not naturally pure.

Try as we may through asceticism, self-denial, self-discipline, separation, or safe spaces, the labor of purification and our own righteousness will ultimately wear us out. To be holy as God is holy, to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect, to be holy in all our conduct, and to keep ourselves pure— as we endeavor to do this, we come to a very clear understanding: I am not holy. Hopefully, that is what we will see. Some people, upon realizing their inability to achieve this, simply try harder. Or they think, "Maybe it's not through this method; I need to try a different method."

We have this internal drive to be holy, and we have this external exhortation from God through the Scriptures to be holy. However, when we try to do that, we discover what the Bible also says in Romans chapter 3, verse 10: "As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one." So, while the Bible says to be holy, it also states that there is nobody who is holy.

Why would God call us to holiness and then also tell us it's not possible? Is He messing with us? I mean, what is this? We have this internal drive, because we're created in His image, to be holy. Then He tells us to be holy, and then He says, "Yeah, but you can't do that." Why on earth would He do this?

Well, He's not messing with us. This is not some cosmic joke. He's leading us to a very important conclusion. What's that? We need God's supernatural power to acquire and maintain purity at its basic level. This is the gospel message. You are not pure, though you have this internal compelling drive to be so, and though the holy God tells us to be so. When you try to do that, you are immediately confronted with the reality that you are not pure.

Paul puts it this way in Romans chapter 7: "The good things I want to do, I don't do. The bad things I don't want to do, that I practice." Can anyone identify with that? Absolutely. And we come to this realization: we are not naturally pure in and of ourselves. We need God's supernatural power to acquire and maintain purity. We desire it. We hold other people to a certain standard, thinking, "You're not living as you should be living." The Scriptures align with it. We agree internally with the statement, "You should be holy," but we just can't.

We have no power in and of ourselves to make it a reality in us, at least not to the level that we internally desire in our conscience or to the level that God says, "Be holy as I am holy."

Now, what does this have to do with 1 Timothy chapter 5? Let me try to wrap these things up together. When I set out to teach through 1 Timothy, I planned on teaching it for six weeks. This is our 21st message in 1 Timothy, so six weeks turned into six months. If you've been here over the last many weeks, you know that I've been kind of dodging this passage of Scripture. Why? Well, not because I don't understand what Paul's saying. I get it.

Not because I don't know why he's saying it, but because I haven't really understood how best to articulate it. There’s a verse in the middle of this flow of verses that just doesn't seem to fit. Every time I read it, I thought, I don't see how this fits.

But let's get back to the context for a moment. Paul left a man named Timothy to pastor the church in the city of Ephesus and to get a church that was off course back on course. That was the whole purpose of why Paul left him there. Paul had originally planted the church. He left, and when he came back about eight years later, he found a church that had gone astray. So he says to Timothy, "You stay here. You fix it. I got to go." That’s a tall order.

Timothy is there to oversee an off-course church and bring them back on course. Then Paul leaves and writes this letter encouraging Timothy in that work and giving him specific direction about it. It becomes really clear very quickly when you open First Timothy chapter one that the reason the church was off course, at least in part, and probably in a big part, was because the leaders had led them astray. There was a problem with the leadership, the overseeing elders in the church.

Timothy, the newly appointed pastor, is ordained to oversee this church, and he’s going to have to exercise church discipline over the leaders that are already there. There’s a problem; he’s probably younger than all those leaders. In that culture, that would be even more difficult than it might be in our culture. Paul even says to him in First Timothy chapter four, "Let no one despise your youth," because here he is as the overseeing elder over other elders, and now he has to get this church on course. This is likely going to involve church discipline, so he’s got to mete out that church discipline.

Paul cautions him in verse 19 of First Timothy chapter five, "Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses." This makes sense. Timothy, the younger overseeing elder of this church, is going to have to exercise church discipline over other elders to get the church back on course. Paul says to make sure that when he does this, he does it with due process. There needs to be some corroborating evidence, some testimony from at least two or three witnesses that this person is off course before he starts going in there.

He shouldn’t go in guns blazing, turning over tables. There needs to be very careful oversight, and he should not receive an accusation against an elder except if there are two or three witnesses. Therefore, there needs to be due process in disciplining off-course elders, but there also needs to be some honoring of those who have done well.

First Timothy 5:17 states, "Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who have labored in the word and in doctrine." Paul essentially emphasizes the importance of disciplining bad behavior while rewarding good behavior in this passage, which makes total sense.

Then, in First Timothy 5:20, he writes, "Those who are sinning." It is important to underline the word "sinning" here. In the original Greek language, this phrase is in the present perfect tense, meaning it refers to those who are openly and continually practicing sin. Paul instructs that those who are actively practicing sin should be rebuked. The word "rebuke" means to openly confront someone for the purpose of discipline and bringing about repentance. Therefore, those who are publicly walking in sin should be confronted in order to correct the behavior, so that the rest might fear.

In verse 21, Paul charges Timothy before God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels to observe these things without prejudice and to do nothing with partiality. There is no doubt that there were leaders within that church who were highly respected, creating a social compulsion for Timothy to conform. Paul warns him not to show any partiality in this matter, reminding him that God is watching. Timothy is conducting this before God, Jesus, and the elect angels, which introduces the interesting concept that there are heavenly beings observing how the church is led.

This all seems to flow logically from verses 17 to 20, but then we come to verse 22, which has been a point of contemplation for me. Paul advises, "Do not lay hands on anyone hastily." He cautions against ordaining new elders too quickly. Additionally, he warns Timothy not to share in other people's sins by ordaining elders too hastily. By doing so, he could have communion with their sin, as the word "Koinonia" implies fellowship. Therefore, Timothy should keep himself pure.

Finally, in verse 23, Paul adds a parenthetical note: "By the way, no longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and for your frequent infirmities."

Some men's sins are clearly evident, proceeding them to judgment, but those of some follow later. Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those of others cannot be hidden. It seems like a total massive brick wall of a speed bump right in the middle of this logical form of Scripture. This is how you ordain elders. This is how you deal with elders who are out of the way. This is how you reward elders. Oh, by the way, drink a little wine for your stomach's sake.

What? You might wonder how that has anything to do with the passage here. I believe it leads to this point, point number four, and I'll try to explain it. Point number four is that maintaining purity in the church is a corporate endeavor. What does that mean? Well, again, look at verse 23: "No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake for your frequent infirmities."

I've been trying to figure out how this fits with the logic. I've read a whole bunch of different commentaries on it, and I've talked with some other Bible teaching friends about this passage. If I just taught this verse out of context, it would make sense. If I could teach a topical message on this, fine, but I like to see how things logically fit in the progression. I have one of those minds that likes to go from A to B to C to D. Does anyone else feel that way? So when I get A, B, C, and then M, I go, "What? Where did that come from?"

I asked a number of friends, and I have to be honest; I didn't like any of their explanations. Then last week, a friend who goes to the church here, after the service, said, "Hey, can we get together for lunch this week? I'd love to talk with you about something." I said, "Sure. That sounds good."

We went to lunch on Friday, and as we were out to lunch, talking about things that seemingly had nothing to do with this passage, he started to talk a little bit more. He shared with me a little bit of his testimony, which I already knew. For the first half of this man's life, he was a terrible alcoholic. Then, by God's grace, he got sober almost four decades ago and has been sober for nearly 40 years. That's awesome and totally commendable.

As we talked about various aspects of life and the things he's learned over the last 40 years of walking with the Lord, being sober, and helping other people experience sobriety in their lives, I said to him, "You know, it's amazing we're having this conversation because I think this is providential. I've been wrestling with this passage of Scripture." I continued, "Here's what's come to my mind as we're talking. I think both you and I would agree that drunkenness is sin." He said, "Absolutely. The Bible makes it very clear: drunkenness is sin."

I then wondered if he would agree with me that sobriety does not equal righteousness.

He said, "Yeah, you're right. You see, you can be sober, and that's a good thing. I think the Bible promotes sobriety. But you can be sober while living according to a certain standard. I don't drink anymore. I used to, but I don't do it anymore." As this man was telling me, you can still be totally unrighteous.

Why do I bring this up? I think that alcohol was a problem in the Ephesian context, and it's a problem for many in our own context today. It was an issue because Paul exposes it as such when he writes in another letter to the church at Ephesus. In Ephesians chapter five, verse 18, he says, "Do not be drunk with wine, which is excess, but be filled with the Spirit." He gives this exhortation to the Ephesian church a few years before he sends Timothy there.

Paul emphasizes, "Do not be drunk with wine, which is excess." I have a theory; I could be totally wrong. We could get to heaven, and Paul can correct it. But I have a theory that the elders at the Ephesian church were not given to wine, and yet they had led the church astray. They had this standard of life: "We don't drink," which is a highly valuable standard, especially in a culture where alcohol was a major problem.

It seems to be an emphasis. Though they had sobriety, that did not equal righteousness. There was still a problem. You see, Paul said, "Do not be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit." Do you realize that you can be not drunk with wine but also not filled with the Spirit? This became a problem for the church at Ephesus.

So why does Paul bring this up? Because he's talking about elders. He's discussing them leading the church and appointing elders to lead the church well. In the middle of it, he just throws out this thought for Timothy: "Oh, parentheses, by the way, Timothy, drink a little wine with your water for your frequent infirmities."

Pretty much every commentary you will read will agree that Timothy was probably a teetotaler, meaning he did not drink. Yet Paul here says, "Drink a little wine with your water," which most commentators, Bible teachers, and biblical historians will tell us is likely because, in many developing nations in the world today, the water supplies were not very pure or sanitary. One of the ways they would deal with the impurities and contaminants—those things that could make you sick, like parasites and bacteria—was to add a little bit of wine.

Alcohol is used to hopefully purify and kill off any contaminants. However, here you have the Ephesian elders and Timothy, who are against the use of alcohol. They have this standard, but this standard practice for the church was causing a physical infirmity. Paul addresses this issue, saying, "Listen, let's deal with this problem. And don't think that this standard makes you righteous. It doesn't. It doesn't make you righteous."

As he calls the church to address eldership and leadership in a proper way, he returns to the thought in verse twenty-four: "Some men's sins are clearly evident." There are some people who, with just one look, you can tell are not elders in the church because their lives are totally off base and out of order. Their sins are worn on the outside, making it clear that they are not the best leadership potential. Perhaps they will be in the future as God transforms their lives, but right now, no. Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment. It's as if they are pushing their sin in a cart in front of them for everyone to see.

On the other hand, Paul notes that the sins of some follow them later. Some people can hide their sins really well. The same is true for good works. Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, while those of others cannot be hidden. Their good works may be a little quieter.

Paul is saying in this passage that we should not lay hands on someone, ordaining them to a position of leadership within the church too quickly. Oftentimes, what is needed is time—time to see the fruit of their life. They can look really good on the outside, which is what we would refer to as Phariseeism. This is what Jesus speaks against in Matthew chapter 23, a great passage to read later. He says of the Pharisees, "You guys clean the outside of the cup, but the inside is dirty. You look good on the outside, but not on the inside." He compares them to whitewashed tombs, saying, "You painted the outside of a tomb, but inside it's still full of dead men's bones." It doesn't matter how good you make it look on the outside; it's still full of decay.

Thus, there is a way in which people within church settings can appear really good on the outside but not be so good on the inside.

And here's one of the things that becomes very clear. Point number five: private impurity will eventually be publicly manifest. You can't hide it forever. This is the clear teaching of the Scriptures. Private impurity will eventually be publicly manifest. It is said like this in Numbers, the Old Testament book of Numbers, chapter 32, verse 22: "Be sure your sin will find you out." It will come out. So don't lay hands on someone too quickly; watch, test, and see.

Jesus said it like this in Matthew, chapter seven, at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew seven, verse 15, He warns, "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves." You will know them, false prophets, by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? The answer is no. Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, and every bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits, you will know them.

Having personal convictions and stances related to personal righteousness, holiness, and purity are all good things. However, those positions and the ways we set ourselves religiously—following certain rites, rituals, and traditions within the context of the church—do not make you righteous. Christ makes us righteous, beginning internally and working it out in and through our lives by the transforming of our minds, so that we would show forth what is His good and perfect will in this world. That's what God wants to do in our lives.

We need God's supernatural power in our lives to acquire and maintain righteousness, holiness, and purity. In that context, the more important visible evidence is the fruit of the Spirit. Paul said, "Do not be drunk with wine, which is excess, but be filled with the Spirit." What is it that we're wanting to see in the lives of people? Is it that they just keep after certain standards, like "I don't drink"? Or is it that they're filled with the Spirit, and the evidence of the filling of the Spirit is evident in their lives? I would suggest to you that it is the evidence of the filling of the Spirit that we are far more interested in.

We can have this inclination to exalt people whose lives look really good on the outside, paying very little attention to what is taking place internally. We have a wonderful barometer for what we should be looking for in Galatians chapter 5, where Paul tells us what the evidence of God's Spirit is in the life of a person. It's not religious ritual, church attendance, tithe records, or serving in children's ministry. All those things may be really good, but what we need to see in the life of a person is this: the evidence of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

These are the kinds of things that God is looking for in us to be manifest, to show forth His glory. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control—those are the kinds of things God wants to see. We should honor these qualities when we see them by perhaps laying hands on someone and acknowledging that we see God's call and work in their life towards this purpose. This is so that people and churches would not be led astray.

Next week, we will have a very practical application of this. I have been observing a young man's life and seeing him walk out these qualities, so we will be appointing him to the work of the ministry. I hope you will be here as we lay hands on someone within the church and pray for them in this way.

However, we can get so fixated on how religious a person is when, in reality, we need to see Christ's righteousness manifested in them through love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. As followers of Jesus, we should be endeavoring to see these qualities grow in our lives by the work of God's grace and His Spirit. Amen?

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? Father, thank You for this passage of Scripture. Even though sometimes seeing the clear, logical thread through it might be hard for my little mind, I thank You for the work of Your grace and Your Spirit to lead us into these things. I pray, God, that any loose ends I have left in this would be tied back together by Your grace. Thank You that it is not up to us to work our way up to You, because by our own...

Strength, determination, and power are remarkable qualities. Even though it's phenomenal what we human beings can accomplish through self-discipline and denial, ultimately, we'll never get there on our own. We thank You for coming down to us and dealing with our unrighteousness perfectly on the cross. God, work out Your righteousness in us as we follow You by faith.

As we stand here today, you may realize that you have been trying, through church attendance or religious effort and ritual, to make yourself pure and to keep yourself pure. However, you recognize that this is totally impossible by your own strength. I want to encourage you: Christ died for your sin to make it possible for you to be forgiven and pardoned. He can indwell you with His Holy Spirit and accomplish His good work in and through your life by grace.

If you would like to receive the forgiving grace of God today, to receive His salvation and His indwelling nature, what we call salvation, I want to give you a chance to do that. Would you just lift up your hand as we are in an attitude of prayer? Is there anyone here who wants to receive the forgiving grace of God today? God bless you; I see you here. God bless you in the back. Is there anyone else?

You may realize that you've been trying to make yourself pure and keep yourself pure, and you've frustrated yourself in the process. If you want to allow Christ to work it out in you, would you lift up your hand? Praise the Lord! If that's you, just follow along with me in this prayer. You can pray it out loud wherever you are.

Dear Jesus, I know I cannot make myself pure. I confess that I need You. Would You come into my life, forgive me of my sin, and help me to follow You by faith, for Your glory? In Jesus' name, amen.