Communion Legacy

July 5, 1992 PM

Acts 20:25-35

Guard yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace which can build you up and give you an inheritance among those who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

These words were spoken by Paul to the elders of the Ephesian church. Paul was on his way to Jerusalem, and he believed, with good reason, that he would never see these men again. He had a solemn burden on his heart for this church he loved. It was a message first of all of warning.

Paul used words of military impact; words of security. "Be on guard!" "Guard your selves and guard all the flock over which you have any influence!"

Why is such vigilance necessary? Is not this an age of tolerance, and of understanding? Are not people who do not agree with us still good people, on their way to be with God as well? Our vigilance is not against people of good will. It is against evil people and against false doctrines or distorted truth. Paul was not tolerant of heterodox doctrine.

He says in Galatians 1:

Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! (Galatians 1:7-10)

Paul took his doctrine seriously! He says here that he never stopped warning the Ephesian church night and day for the three years that he lived there with them! The heart of our Christian faith is the doctrine of Jesus Christ. The watershed, the bench-mark against which we measure "true" or "false" doctrine begins and ends with our doctrine of Jesus Christ!

How seriously do we take our Christology? Who is Jesus Christ to you? Who is He to our church? Is Jesus Christ Almighty God? Is Jesus Christ the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world? Is Jesus Christ the ONLY propitiation for sins? How personally do we take our Christology?

Paul says to the elders: "Guard yourselves!"

Who is Jesus TO ME? Is Jesus Lord to YOU?

The gospel is not so much "what" we know as "Whom" we know; God is probably not going to worry too much about the nuances of baptism or terminology of holiness. But the "what" is important, too! And Paul is concerned about people who DELIBERATELY and SELFISHLY and KNOWINGLY seek to twist and use the Gospel for personal reasons.

Paul put it this way: "SAVAGE WOLVES WILL COME IN AMONG YOU" and then Paul said, "EVEN FROM YOUR OWN NUMBER THERE WILL ARISE PEOPLE WHO DISTORT THE TRUTH!"

How can we hold these two important truths together: We must love everyone and be truly open to all people of good will, and, We must be on guard against those who distort the truth? The answer is in Paul's solemn commitment of his loved ones as he prepared to leave them. It was a two-fold commitment which we need to take seriously:

Paul said

1. I COMMIT YOU TO GOD!

Be faithful to your God! Be close to Him! Talk to Him! Remember that faith first of all is a living relationship! Christians cannot hope to stay pure unless they have a working prayer life, and maintain an openness with their God. We need to pray the essence of the Lord's Prayer, with true meaning, with deliberate intention, every day that we live!

2. I COMMIT YOU TO THE WORD OF HIS GRACE!

Be faithful to your New Testament! Read your Bible! Be open to its reproof, rebuke, exhortation!

I am absolutely astounded by the shallowness and superficiality of much that passes for Christian. I used to think that at least the Catholics have some sort of grounding in their CCD classes; then I read a blistering exposé in First Things written by a good Roman Catholic laywoman saying that the level of doctrinal and scriptural illiteracy is appalling in her church even as it is in Protestant circles.

So-called born-again Christians cannot name the Ten Commandments, cannot name the Four Gospels, cannot quote enough scripture to witness to their own salvation— and we wonder why we are ready to fall for twisted applications of scripture when they come along. This may seem like a negative sort of lead-in for communion. But communion needs to be a time of heart opening and soul-searching. We need to take responsibility for the flock that is ours!

We need to be shepherds of the flock of Christ! Let us come to the altar with our needs, our sins, our confession; let us here receive God's forgiveness and grace— and receive His inheritance among all those who are sanctified!