Spur one another on

No notes for slide

Our English translations use a variety of words to describe some of the more uncomfortable things Christians are told to do to one another.

Let me begin with the words Admonish and Exhort. These words are both used to describe the somewhat uncomfortable kind of encouragement that most of us need. There are two or three Greek words used in the Bible Simply put, to exhort is to apply pressure to someone “do this good thing” which they are not inclined to do and to admonish is to apply pressure to someone “don’t do that bad thing”.A few weeks ago our family went to Symonds Yat. We parked in a car park near Symonds Yat rock which is on the top of a ridge which overlooks two sections of the river and from there we went for a down a steep winding path to the river along the river bank for a mile or two, across a swaying rope bridge back along the river and across a hand pulled ferry before climbing back up to the carpark. We aren’t really a family of walkers and getting back up the hill took quite a lot of exhortation to the little ones to keep on going. There was also a bit of admonition to stay away from the steep sides of the path and to keep back from the river bank.

A few weeks ago our family went to Symonds Yat. We parked in a car park near Symonds Yat rock which is on the top of a ridge which overlooks two sections of the river and from there we went for a down a steep winding path to the river along the river bank for a mile or two, across a swaying rope bridge back along the river and across a hand pulled ferry before climbing back up to the car park. We aren’t really a family of walkers and getting back up the hill took quite a lot of exhortation to the little ones to keep on going. There was also a bit of admonition to stay away from the steep sides of the path and to keep back from the river bank.It’s one thing to exhort and admonish your children but when it comes to us exhorting and admonishing each other there are some problems.

Cultural Pressure: Exhortation and Admonition are two forms of biblical love which should work in balance together, but in our culture they are often pitted against one another today. Encouragement is "in" but admonition is "out." Warning against sin isn’t popular in any culture but ours has particular problems with it. Our society has largely rejected moral absolutes so it equates moral correction with unloving intolerance. According to today's secular climate, humans are capable of healthy moral self-direction and are rendered dysfunctional by external moral intrusion. Admonition is therefore seen as unnecessary and even harmful.Unfortunately, many Christians have taken this on board. Encouragement is seen as mandatory to spiritual growth, but admonition is tragically absent from many Christians' view of love. It is not "politically correct" in the current climate for Christians to confront one another about moral issues. Those who admonish other Christians run the risk of being called intrusive at best, and spiritually abusive at worst. Yet the New Testament is clear that, because of human sinfulness, it is not possible to love one another without admonishing one another.Past Experience: Some have experienced abusive, excessive or unloving discipline from parents or church leaders. We should understand why people would react against all correction because of this. In rejecting all correction, we will certainly create a situation just as harmful as the original problem. As mentioned last week, we don't only have problems when we've had abusive authority figures in our past (parents, teachers, etc.) but every bit as damaging are permissive authority figures (parents, teachers, etc.). This is becoming more and more the issue we run into when admonishing in this society.

Value friends who care enough to reprove you! Have you ever thanked someone for admonishing you?Be suspicious of defensiveness on your part.Nothing could be more common than for us to think "How dare she say this? . . . What about his sins? . . . She didn't say that very sensitively? . . . you don't know all the facts . . . "We have to get to the where we can receive and profit from correction that comes to us in imperfect ways through fallen people. If we are only willing to receive correction directly from God (via Word, personal conviction), we will miss out on much sanctification.If we have responded with inappropriate defensiveness, we should go back and apologize for this. Otherwise, we are teaching people to leave us alone—and we will pay the price.Defensiveness can take the form of self-deprecation. Some of us are visibly crushed by admonition and people sense our despair and become reluctant to correct us. Hebrews 12:5 instructs us not to be "crushed" by God's discipline, but to see it as his loving influence in our life.Focus on the content of the admonition.Specifically, you should ask yourself two questions: "Do I recognize this action or attitude in my life?" and "Does the Bible speak of it as wrong?"If you can answer "yes" to these questions, you should thank the person and prayerfully go to work on this issue. If you are already addressing the issue, let them know. If you haven't been, you might ask them for input on how you can work on this area. The godly Christian knows how to profit from a rebuke even when it is given in the wrong way (2 Sam. 16:5-12).If your answer is "no," you will need to respond accordingly. Depending on the spirit with which the person admonished you, you may want to thank him for his concern. But do not admit/apologize just to make peace. It is just as wrong to apologize for an action when you aren't wrong as it is to not apologize when you are wrong (see Paul in 1 Cor. 4:3-5). If we lie to make peace people learn not to trust us.

Where are the songs of admonition? In the newer songs that we sing we seem to be missing some of the range of content which we used to find in our hymn books.

Where are the psalms in our worship?The law of the Lord is perfect Converting the soul The testimony of The Lord is sure Making wise the simple More to be desired Are they than gold!Yea than much fine gold Sweeter also than the honey And the honeycomb The statutes of The Lord are right Rejoicing the heart The commandment of The Lord is pure Enlightening the eyes(repeat chorus) The fear of the Lord is clean Enduring forever The judgments of The Lord are true And righteous altogether

Now I want to talk about Spurs. I’m not much of a football fan but I did see Adebayor take a penalty earlier this week.

I hear that the European Space Agency said on Twitter that they are still looking for it!

Actually I wasn’t meaning those spurs, I was talking about the sort that cowboys and other horse riders use.I did some reading up on spurs and learned that they need to be used very carefully. They should not be used to inflict pain on a horse, it’s more a matter of a gentle prodding signal to clarify what the rider wants from the horse. When used incorrectly spurs can cause pain and distress to the horse. Likewise in spurring one another on we need to be very careful not to cause pain or distress.In truth though whilst I think the NIV translation is quite helpful in conveying the general sense, the original writer of Hebrews 10v24 makes no mention of spurs – remember no one is really sure who wrote HebrewThe writer here in v 24 uses an interesting word which it seems is rather a challenge to translate from Greek. At least two English Bible translations translate the word as “stir up – that is stir up rather than ‘stirrup’– sorry - I’d better stop horsing about or we’ll be getting on to Tesco jokes next!I’m a little nervous of talking about Greek with Adam here, but this is an interesting word so here goes…

The word is only used on one other occasion in the New Testament describing the row which Paul had with Barnabas over whether they should take John-Mark along on their journey after he had deserted them on an earlier occasion. Im not sure if this is why some people call an argument a Barney!There is an English word ‘paroxysm’ which derives from this Greek word used sometimes to describe an violent outburst of emotion or medically to describe a sudden attack, a fit or a seizure of some kind.Something of this sense comes out in other English translations. As well as “stir up (ESV, NKJV) we find “provoke” (KJV, NRSV), “motivate” (NLT), “promote” (HCSB), or “arouse” (NEB).So our writer is saying that we ought to provoke our spiritual family members to love and good deeds. This is strong language! I reckon that what is probably going on here is that the writer is using this word ironically to grab our attention: “Rather than provoking one another to anger, think about how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.” This is perhaps even more ironic if Hebrews was written as many have suggested by Barnabas himself :)We are not being told to stir up trouble in the church but we are being told to think about what we can do to stir our fellow believers into positive action. Actually here is a very literal translation of the verse…

Here is a very literal translation of verse 24. It isn’t good English but it is very interesting in that it shows us a really important aspect of one anothering that wasn’t even planned in to our sermon series. The main verb of the sentence is an imperative “Consider” but its direct object is “one another”!So what this is saying is that as believers we should think about one another

Here is an exhortation or an admonition which directly follows the verse we have been consideringThe day of God’s judgement is coming we need each other

A little biology lessonWhen your hand touches something hot and is in danger of being hurt, nerve cells called pain receptors send messages up your arm to the spinal chord. In the spinal chord another nerve is triggered by all the signals coming in from pain receptors and sends out a signal of its own which in turn triggers a third kind of nerve called a motor neuron carries a message causing your biceps muscle to flex and pull your hand away. The part which moves is not your hand it’s your upper arm.In a similar way when one Christian is in danger of being hurt by sin God often works by using another Christian to pull them back from the danger.If your nerves are damaged by injury such as burning or a disease such as leprosy, you are much more likely to injure yourself again because there is no withdrawal response. It’s the same in the church which the Apostle Paul writing to the Romans calls the body of Christ. Each part has a different job to do and each part needs the other. Romans 12 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

The huge redwood trees of California are pretty amazing. They are the largest living things on earth and the tallest trees in the world. Some of them are 350 feet high and 20 feet in diameter. Some are thought to have started growing before Jesus was born!You might think that trees so large must have a root system that reaches down deep into the earth but actually their roots usually go down less than 10 feet but spread out 50-80 feet from the tree. Though the roots spread out redwoods grow very close together in groves. The roots of all the trees in the grove intertwine, they are locked to each other. When the storms come, the winds blow, and the lightning flashes, the redwoods still stand. All the trees support and protect each other. Each tree is important to all the other trees in the grove.

Are we all doing the jobs God has gifted us for in the body – are we exhorting admonishing one another. Are we considering how to provoke one another to love and good works. May God help us to become stronger in the areas where we are weakest.

Spur one another on

Paul Shaddick

Spur one another on