Sunday Sermons
The Servant
In the New Testament, one of the terms which is used to describe the Christian is the term “servant”: “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus” (Romans 1:1); “And the Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome” (2 Timothy 2:24); “For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5). One of the common Greek words rendered “servant” in the New Testament is the term “diakonos”: “It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant” (Matthew 20:26); “But the greatest among you shall be your servant” (23:11); “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all” (Mark 9:35). The fundamental meaning of this word is one who waits on tables. In addition, Vine notes, “The word is probably connected with the verb dioko, to hasten after, pursue (perhaps originally said of a runner)” (p. 272). The term “servant” reminds all Christians to whom we owe our allegiance(Galatians 1:10).
Areas of Service
Service to God: “It is the Lord Christ whom you serve” (Colossians 3:24); “How you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9); “Let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe” (Hebrews 12:28). When a person decides to become a Christian they are in effect saying that they will acknowledge Jesus as the Lord and thus we voluntarily and willing turn over our minds and bodies to His service (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Galatians 2:20 “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God”). The thought “I no longer live” is that idea that we no longer live selfishly, “That they who live should no longer live for themselves” (2 Corinthians 5:15). We are no longer following our own selfish agenda rather we are following the goals, ideals, and way of life that God has planned for His people (Ephesians 2:10; John 12:26 “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me”).
Service to Civil Government: Christianity does not free us from the laws of the land or our obligations as citizens of an earthly country. We serve the government that we are under by paying taxes (Romans 13:6), by demonstrating respect for those in positions of authority (Romans 13:7 “Honor to whom honor”); obeying the laws of the land (Romans 13:2), and by praying for the leaders of the land (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Christians in the First Century were expected to do all these things yet they lived under a far more oppressive government that we do today. In fact the further our leaders stray from God the more they need our prayers. Such respect even includes being in subjection to local leaders (1 Peter 2:13-14 “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution”).
Service to the Lost: “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. Thus, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome” (Romans 1:14-15). The expression, “I am under obligation” is the thought that we owe Christ to the Christ-less. “All men, without distinction of nation or culture, are Paul’s creditors. ‘He owes them his life, his person, in virtue of the grace bestowed upon him, and of the office which he has received’ (Godet)”(Vincent p. 8). We tend to forget that in becoming a Christian, our time is not our own. We owe the lost our attention, we owe them our time and efforts. We tend to forget that in becoming a Christian we decided to no longer make our choices and priorities upon the basis of what is comfortable for us. In another passage Paul stated it this way, “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more” (1 Corinthians 9:19). “Voluntary bondage” (Robertson p. 147);“Yet I have freely and happily become a servant of any and all” (Tay). That is, dedicated to the highest good of all. This is the language of Jesus (Mark 10:45; Luke 22:27; Matthew 20:26 “but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant”). “This utterly outstrips any freedom which the Corinthian disciples and protagonists might vauntingly claim. The pagan Stoics, too, had much to say about inner freedom, which enabled a man by philosophy and by training to rise far above either pain or joy. Paul would stagger these pagans when he declares: ‘I have made mine own self a slave to all’. No Stoic would understand that” (Lenski p. 375). “So far from doing what he had the abstract right to do, he made every necessary concession wherever he saw a possibility of bringing souls to Christ” (Erdman p. 97). “As Paul reflected on Corinth and the terrible need there he undoubtedly thought: ‘I must and I will.’ Now we hear: ‘I did!’ (Whom do you know who fits this description? I genuinely hope you do know someone like that.) Stories circulate of people selling themselves into slavery just so they can get to preach. Stories of people entering valleys of lepers, never to be seen again, just so they can ‘gain the more’”(McGuiggan p. 130).
Service to our enemies: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink” (Romans 12:20); “Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return” (Luke 6:35); “Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (6:28). These demands will seem staggering, impossible, and unworkable to the person who still insists on being the Master of their own life. We will never like these commands and neither will we implement them until we accept the fact that Jesus is the Lord and we are His willing servants. We can balk at serving others, or giving them our best effort, time, and energy, because we might be tempted to think, “but they don’t deserve it”, or, “they haven’t done anything for me lately”. God quickly reminds us, that we aren’t serving others because they deserve such service, but rather, in serving them, we are in reality serving God.
Service to the Elders: “Appreciate those who diligently labor among you…and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work” (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13); “Obey your leaders, and submit to them” (Hebrews 13:17). This is not merely a suggestion, but a command, for God takes a dim view of a rebellious attitude toward the elders.
Service to our brethren: “But through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13); “He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). The Early Christians took very seriously the command to love and serve others. Tertullian reported that the Romans would exclaim, “See how they (Christians) love one another!” (Apology, chapter 39). Justin Martyr said, “We who used to value the acquisition of wealth and possessions more than anything else now bring what we have into a common fund and share it with anyone who needs it. We used to hated and destroy one another and refused to associate with people of another race or country. Now, because of Christ, we live together with such people and pray for our enemies” (First Apology, Chapter 14). “When a devastating plague swept across the ancient world in the third century, Christians were the only ones who cared for the sick, which they did at the risk of contracting the plague themselves. Meanwhile, pagans were throwing infected members of their own families into the streets even before they died, in order to protect themselves from the disease” (Eusebius History of the Church, book 7, chapter 22).
Service to our family members: This includes serving our parents (Ephesians 6:1; 1 Timothy 5:8), serving our mates (1 Corinthians 7:33 “how he may please his wife”; Deuteronomy 24:5; Ephesians 5:21 “be subject to one another in the fear of Christ”), and serving our children by training, teaching and disciplining them. Unfortunately, we live in an independent society where parents want to be freed from their children, where children want to be freed from the authority of their parents, and where husband and wives each insistent upon living independently of one another.
Practical Applications
There is a limited time to serve: Our lives are a mere vapor (James 4:14), and the time that we might have the knowledge, health, and ability to serve others can be very short. The time to serve our parents will be ended at their death, the time to serve our mates will only last some 50 or so years. There is no guarantee that we will always have the health or mental ability to share the gospel with our friends. Thus we must use each opportunity to serve. Jesus noted, “We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day: night is coming, when no man can work” (John 9:4). We need to have a sense of urgency about doing God’s will, because death ends all opportunities to change things upon this earth (Ecclesiastes 9:5-10). In addition, the people whom we need to serve, their time is also limited. There is no guarantee that our lost friend will live another day. There is no guarantee that our wife or husband will still be here tomorrow. We need to remember that all the people who mean so much to us are people who are dying, and people who we only have for a limited amount of time.
Personal Service: “You gave me..you invited Me in…you visited Me” (Matthew 25:35ff); “He eagerly searched for me, and found me” (2 Timothy 1:17); “To visit the orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27). Marvin Olasky notes that in our country we have definite battle lines drawn over how to help people in need. Some say we need more government spending and others are fed up saying that we have spent enough. Yet he reminds us that there is a third alternative, that both the pro-spending and anti-spending factions are stingy, because the real need is for challenging, personal, and often spiritual help. He reminds us that from the beginning of this country people have existed who would first try to connect those in need with family members or others who knew them and were willing to become personally involved. Serving others will require sacrifices on our part, spending time with them, and challenging them when they need correction (1 Thessalonians 5:14; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). I like what Olasky said about homeless people. You do not treat them as pets (put some food in their bowls and let them lie around all day) but rather you treat them as men and women created in the image of a wonderful God and thus capable of doing wonderful things themselves.
Service and “No”: Serving others does not mean that you allow them to occupy all your time or abuse your kindness. Olasky notes that volunteers during the 1890’s in Boston gave assistance to three-fourths of those who asked for help but found one-fourth “unworthy” because they showed no desire to change (2 Thessalonians 3:10; Titus 3:10).
Serving the Lowly: Olasky further notes, “Church-growth specialists emphasize the importance of homogeneous (people who are all the same) congregations, which in affluent areas means not having to encounter on Sunday someone who’s not well-scrubbed” (World Magazine, 1-4-2003, p. 80). Remember, Jesus spent time with the sinners who were willing to listen (Luke 15:1-2) and Paul exhorts us, “Do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly” (Romans 12:16). Paul noted that many of his brethren were not people that the world would consider to be important (1 Corinthians 1:26). Even Christians can get caught up in wanting to be a little satellite orbiting some important person, or being able to claim important friends. But we know the most important person in the world—God! Jesus said, “But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:13-14). Instead of using people for our own personal gain, determine rather to serve others. The word associate literally means “a yielding or being carried away by”. Some would suggest, “let the lowly take you by the hand”, that is, you can learn many valuable lessons from humble people.
