|
Introduction: This morning we
will be continuing our study of Colossians 3:12-17 as we study the
Believer’s Profile. I am using the word profile in the sense of
observable characteristics. The other day in Stewarts, I saw a
lady wearing white shoes, a green pair of pants, and a green shirt
made of the same material as the pants. What was she? A nurse.
This is called profiling - drawing a conclusion about a person based
on observable characteristics.
And believers should have a
profile. We should have certain observable characteristics in our
lives that would compel the people in our neighborhoods and
communities and places of work to draw the conclusion that we are
not like the rest of the world. We are different. Paul has told us
so far in this passage that we are to be marked by compassion,
kindness, and as we saw last week, humility (a proper, or accurate
view or perspective of ourselves).
And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and
beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another,
and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone;
just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14
And beyond all these things put on love, which is the
perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of Christ
rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body;
and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell
within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another
with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And
whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
This morning we are going to look
at gentleness (KJV - meekness). What is gentleness?
Who has a good definition for us? Here again we have a word that is
hard to define, but we all know it when we see it. A gentle person
is a person who is not harsh. He doesn’t overreact to situations.
He is thoughtful and deliberate. He doesn’t jump to conclusions.
He isn’t dogmatic and overbearing - he is gentle. He is refined and
polite which is where the term “gentleman” comes from. We use the
word gentle to describe rivers. This means they don’t have rapids
or waterfalls or whirlpools. They just slowly, peacefully, gently
make their way along. This is “gentleness” in English.
But what is gentleness according
to the Bible? The lexicon defines this word as “meekness and
consideration,” which helps a little, but to get an idea of what
gentleness looks like, let’s look at some verses where this word is
used.
Transition: Let’s
note first of all this morning the role of gentleness in
sanctification.
Someone define sanctification for
us. Sanctification is the process where we become more and more
like Christ. Sanctification involves getting rid of the things in
our lives that aren’t pleasing to God and replacing them with things
that are pleasing to God. It is a life-long process. And one of
the things we see in the Bible is that “putting on gentleness” is a
part of the sanctification process.
A. The Role of Gentleness in
Sanctification
2 Corinthians 10:1
Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and
gentleness of Christ-- I who am meek when face to face with
you, but bold toward you when absent! This verse tells us
clearly that gentleness is one of the characteristics of Jesus. We
see this over and over in the gospels, but the classic passage would
be Matthew 12:18-21 “Behold, My Servant whom I
have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put
My Spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
"He will not quarrel, nor cry out; nor will anyone hear His voice in
the streets. "A battered reed He will not break off, and a
smoldering wick He will not put out, until He leads justice to
victory. "And in His name the Gentiles will hope.”
Now my point here is that
gentleness was one of the distinguishing characteristics of Jesus.
And if we are going to be like Christ, as the Bible commands us, we
are going to have to develop gentleness.
Look next with me at Galatians
5:22 - 23. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control; against such things there is no law.” This is
telling us that gentleness is a “fruit of the Spirit,” or an
evidence (that is the significance of the word fruit) of salvation.
Ephesians 4:1 “I,
therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner
worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all
humility and gentleness, with patience, showing
forbearance to one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. I like this verse
because it uses that phrase, “walk worthy of your calling.”
Gentleness is a part of being a believer!
1 Timothy 6:11 “But
flee from these things, you man of God; and pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.”
Titus 3:2 “to
malign no one, to be uncontentious, gentle (a different Greek
word), showing every consideration (the word we
are looking at - KJV “showing all meekness”) for all men. I
want to pause here for a moment because I really like this
particular translation of the word - “considerate.” Considerate
behavior is gentle behavior. Considerate behavior is when you think
about other people more than you think about yourself. Considerate
behavior is when you let someone else go before you in a traffic
jamb.
James 3:13
“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his
good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.”
So the Bible is pretty clear about
the necessity of gentleness in the life of the believer. Gentleness
characterized the life of Jesus and we are to be like Jesus. But
gentleness doesn’t come naturally to us, we have to deliberately
choose to be gentle. And it is this process of choosing to be
gentle and refusing to be inconsiderate that marks us as Christians.
Transition: The
second thing I want to show you about gentleness has to do with the
role of gentleness in discipline.
B. The Role of Gentleness
in Discipline
Discipline is a necessary
part of the Christian life. It isn’t pleasant, but it is an
evidence of love. Hebrews 12:6 “For those
whom the Lord loves, He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom
He receives." But discipline isn’t something that we
receive only, there are times where we are the ones dispensing it.
Parents have to discipline their children. Pastors and elders have
to dsicipline church members from time to time. Teachers have to
discipline students. Employers have to discipline employees, and
our judicial system has to discipline law breakers. And in all
these situations, discipline is negative in its nature. And because
of the general negative nature of discipline, there is great
potential for the act of discipline to become not a loving
corrective but an angry act of vindictiveness.
How many of you have ever been on
the receiving end of discipline (parent, employer, teacher, judicial
system)? How many of you have ever wondered if the person
disciplining you had your best interest in mind and genuinely cared
about you, or if he was just angry with you, or was enjoying his
authority and power and taking advantage the opportunity to make you
miserable?
Ex: My friend in HS wrecking his
dads car and getting beat with a hose. Did my friend deserve some
type of disciplinary measure? Absolutely. Was the beating with a
hose a legitimate act of discipline? No. And how do we know this?
Because the discipline was done in anger and the father was
emotionally out of control. He was more concerned about the loss of
the car than the behavior of his son that lead to the loss of the
car. And we know this because of the lack of gentleness in
the disciplinary process. Gentleness is one of the key
factors that distinguishes legitimate discipline from illegitimate
discipline.
This is why the Bible talks about
the role of gentleness in discipline. When you discipline in anger,
you have just negated your objective. When you are emotionally out
of controll as you are dispensing the discipline, you are doing more
harm than good. Discipline must be tempered by gentleness. And
there are two verses in the Bible that make this clear. Look first
of all with me at 1 Corinthians 4:21. What do you desire?
Shall I come to you with a rod or with love and a spirit of
gentleness? Paul recognized the importance of gentleness in
discipline, and you can see it over and over in the book of 1
Corinthians as he addresses these people as “brethren.” Paul has
some very hard things to say to this church, but you never get the
sense as you are reading 1 Corinthians that Paul is out of control.
And even though the book is primarily negative in nature, Paul
maintains a gentle spirit.
Look also with me at Galatians 6:1
where we see another example of the role of gentleness in
discipline. This one is even more explicit than the previous
verse. Galatians 6:1 Brethren, even if a man is caught
in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a
spirit of gentleness, each one looking to yourself, lest you too be
tempted. Restoration, in the phrase “restore such a one” is an
act of discipline, and again, is negative in nature. And because of
the nature of the activity, there is great potential for abuse. So
Paul insists that it be carried out in a “spirit of gentleness.”
Transition: The
final thing I’d like to show you has to do with the role of
gentleness in evangelism
C. The Role of Gentleness in
Evangelism
In my estimation, one of the most
profound verses in the Bible is James 1:20 “for the anger
of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” Let that
sink in for a minute. “The anger of man does not achieve the
righteousness of God.”
I am afraid that many times as
believers we feel like our “moral high ground” justifies using any
tactic we please to accomplish God’s righteousness. After all, when
I am right because I am holding to the Biblical position on
something, it can be difficult not to be overbearing or even
combative. And this especially holds true in evangelism.
At the house where I am painting
now there is a carpenter who is decidedly unsaved. He is a nice
guy, but he doesn’t have a problem with abortion, or homosexuality,
or any of the other things we Believers feel very strongly about.
There is another guy on the job who is a Christian and wants to see
the carpenter get saved, as we all do. And if decibel level and
dogmatism were the primary means of salvation, this carpenter would
have been saved months ago.
Turn to me with 2 Timothy
2:24-25 and note the role of gentleness in evangelism. “And
the Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all,
able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness
correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant
them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth.”
I know I mentioned it last week, but this verse is so pertinent to
this point I need to make it again. Prov. 16:21 says,
“sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.”
Last year in Adult SS we watched a
video of a Christian debating an athiest, and I believe one of the
reasons the Christian was so persuasive and the athiest was so
unconvinving had to do with how each man presented his case.
The Christian was quiet, and gentle, and factual, and
sincere; and the athiest was sarcastic, and condescending, and even
bordered on being rude. The Christian used gentle persuasion and
the athiest relied on rhetorical gimmicks.
When it comes down to evangelism,
we need to remember that “with gentleness” we should
“correct those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them
repentence.” Poking fun at an unbeliever’s foolish views
will never draw him to Christ.
The other verse that shows
this is 1 Peter 3:15 “but sanctify Christ as
Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to
everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in
you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”
Conclusion: There
is something about a gentle and quiet spirit that is irresistible.
It is true about life in general, and it is especially true in this
matter of evangelism. So in the week ahead of us, let’s focus on
being gentle. It’s a proof of salvation and can accomplish much
more than we usually give it credit for. |
