The Spirit-Filled Community

Today's "sermon" is an annual meeting address to the church in which the Church (at Wollaston)

Romans 8:21 " ... the freedom of the glory of the children of God."

Romans 12:5 " ... we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. "

INTRODUCTION

Last Sunday's message would have been a good and logical place to end this series on "defining sanctification" from Romans 8— "Being filled with the Spirit." But on this Annual Meeting Sunday I wanted to pursue the truth that being sanctified is not just an individual matter.

Frankly, there is not a major emphasis on social holiness in this one chapter. But this great chapter is not isolated, and we do not need to leave the epistle to find clear statements about the community of Christian faith (Romans 12:5) In this very chapter (8:21) we have this one marvelous phrase: "the freedom of the glory of the children of God." This phrase suggests a good deal about sanctification as it is lived in community. It speaks of the freedom of the Spirit in community.

I. FREEDOM IN THE SPIRIT

One important end result of salvation will be freedom, as contrasted here with the slavery of corruption. When evil is finally exposed for the falseness and hollowness and cruelty which it is, then all creation will be set free from corruption. This freedom is what God's children experience.
Freedom does have an element of the negative: FREEDOM FROM
1. Usually when "freedom" is discussed in our society, tainted as it is by the worship of the individual, we think of "freedom" as mostly freedom FROM— "...so that I can do anything I want to do!"
2. This ['freedom FROM' idea] even carries over into Christian setting, until "freedom" or "liberty" means (a.) genuine-ness, the ability to express delight in God; and (b.) the absence of bondage: sin does not control me any longer. [Both of which are GOOD.]
  But we often carry this further and say (c.) NOBODY has the right to tell me what to do! I am free! Even GOD can only SUGGEST to me! I'LL decide!
3. This sort of freedom [tainted with the worship of the individual] does not exist - for ultimately it means freedom from responsibility, and freedom from binding relationships, and freedom from choice and from the results of choice. And there simply is no such freedom in or out of God's kingdom! We all face the consequences of our relationships and our choices! (Galatians 6:7)
Freedom is more than 'not being bound;' it is FREEDOM TO: Freedom is ever something more than the NEGATIVE, what we DON'T HAVE TO DO any more; freedom is THE ABILITY TO DO WHAT WE ARE CREATED TO DO!
1. To be free from the hindrances to holiness means that we now have freedom to belong to God without reservation; freedom to become more and more like Jesus as a life's goal; freedom to be filled with the Spirit and bear His fruit.
2. This positive side of freedom means we can find God's will and pursue it. We have freedom to "be all that you can be!" the only way we can be "all" is in this freedom
[But freedom is not merely an individual matter, believe it or not. Our text opens the idea of "the relationships of freedom:"]

II. THE RELATIONSHIPS OF FREEDOM: "THE GLORIOUS FREEDOM OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD"

Sanctification is always social. Freedom is linked to a relationship with God, but it is also clearly linked with God's children. We are each of us "one among many brethren and sisters" (v 29) Christ is "the first-born among many brethren."
Romans 12:5 says it even more succinctly: " ... we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. "
1. Every child of God has a place in the Body and relates to the entire community of faith
2. Every child of God is a servant to other individual's needs.
The closing chapters of Romans are pure practical social sanctification. When Paul gets through with the necessary and deep and profound foundational statements about God and sin and grace and salvation, he proceeds without apology into the practical application of all the deep things he has written. Perhaps the "Therefore" at the beginning of Chapter Twelve is the demarcation.
"Present your bodies as living sacrifices— and get with the program!"
[But let me make a particularly sharp application on this Annual Meeting Sunday:]

III. WOLLASTON: THE CHALLENGE TO BE A SPIRIT-FILLED COMMUNITY

Our unique position as a church:
When E.N.C. moved here from Rhode Island in 1918 the community simply gathered for worship each Sunday— and when summer came they dispersed and went their several ways. It was not until 1922, nearly 4 years after the college was here in Wollaston that the Wollaston Church of the Nazarene was officially organized. As a church we are definitely the "child of the college."
But in 1949-50 a new concept took shape. The college had sold the church this corner of the campus (for $1) and the relatively small congregation built what was then a mammoth basement structure here— and set out to have its own facility and to reach out into the community in a new way.
To a certain degree we have accomplished, or are accomplishing, this visionary goal. We have three distinct and vital streams that, combining, compose the church as it is today: a community, non-college church; a permanent college-related constituency; a transient college population. Each of these are themselves complex tributaries, and each is indispensable to the character of our fellowship.
Our challenges:
1. DIVERSITY: Our strength is also our greatest challenge. "Profound diversity." One of the most gratifying things that has happened to me in a long time was receiving (of all things) a request for transfer out. But in that letter this woman took the time to tell me what she felt about the Wollaston experience, and share her own vision for a community of diversity. (Listen, also, for the note of positive FREEDOM in her letter:]
  Dear Pastor Metcalfe,
  Please pardon the "stationery," but I wanted to jump on this opportunity to communicate with you. As you can see, I am, at last, transferring my membership to another local congregation. This isn't an easy step to take. Wollaston will always feel like my "home" church. ... I was on staff at L.A. First Church of the Nazarene and got a wonderful hands-on education in urban ministry doing intake, needs assessment, and crisis counseling as well as the real work of urban ministry- networking ministries and services and compiling demographic information.
  I've learned that God isn't looking for any "Lone Rangers" to go do glamorous work in the city, but computer skills and a heart for paperwork are pretty helpful ... It's hard, when so many dramatic portrayals of urban ministry are floating around, to recruit someone to do some "light typing for Jesus ..."
  I've been seeing God's vision for a church of profound diversity where the powerful and powerless, rich and poor, those of a variety of cultures and sub-cultures, minister to one another and their community out of their individual gifts, where- like the Church at Antioch- people in different polarities bring their tensions of our urbanized world together in commonality under the anticipation of the kingdom of God. In three months here I've already been challenged, discouraged, humbled and made witness to the profound power in the love of Jesus Christ. So often in these times I recall the way you've [AT WOLLASTON, MY WORDS] communicated His love.
  And so, at the core, I remain encouraged that this world remains the domain of my God. The freedom I find in that knowledge is such a relief. In a frequently constraining and stressful lifestyle, Jesus has come to mean Choice- what a beautiful word! ...
  I feel very fortunate to have a life touched by this diversity and placed "on call" to pick up and move on to new challenges and chances as the days unfold. While my membership is moving to Chicago as I join this staff, my roots in this journey remain in that patriot-blue sanctuary and very much with you and your work in the Wollaston community. It was under your pastoring that I came to conversion and became convinced of the grace of Jesus Christ.
  I couldn't tell you how many times in a day I think or speak the words: "Justified by faith ... just-as-if-I'd never sinned." I didn't learn everything there is to know of God at Wollaston, but I was given a solid foundational education where I learned to worship, confess, and experience Christian community. I sit back and think of the Wednesday night meetings, the hymns of Luther and Wesley, the prayers of my teachers and peers surrounding me at the altar, and I am warmed with gratitude and love for you all.
  Warmest regards, (signed)
  [By the way, did you get that one phrase: "I learned to worship, confess, and experience Christian community."?]
  Remember: We have a unique opportunity to worship with people who are different from ourselves— and consider them God's GIFTS to the Body! (Romans 12:5) " ... we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. "
2. PARKING: Believe it or not, our greatest challenge to numerical growth is parking! Visitors really have to find us— and to walk a block sometimes after they park their cars!
3. BUSY PEOPLE: Like "Diversity" this is also both strength and weakness. Other churches "envy" our "talent." Tonight we will have more than 50 people in a wonderful chorus choir. Other times it is hard to get 25 who are free to practice. We have some of the most interesting and challenging Sunday School classes imaginable. But at the same time it has been very difficult to find candidates for Sunday School superintendent.
  Recently I preached a sermon on the fact that, under God's direction, it is all right to say "No!" to demands on your time, which is really God's time. I stand by that statement. But at the same time, our church is the product of our sacrificial love.
Our resources:
Love. We are a loving community! Understanding. The fellowship works!
Redundancy: Thank God we are a college church! It is a privilege to know our own gifted scholars and teachers as well as hear the outstanding speakers that visit here each year.
But we are NOT JUST a "college church" ... we have Community people ... one of our strongest segments is our Young Adult Fellowship (Y.A.F.) ... "Pie Monday" concept

Conclusion: ["What about:"]

GOALS:

They should be consistent with our mission statement:

"To know God, and to provide a climate in which each person may come to his or her full spiritual potential in Jesus Christ."

They should implement the joy implicit in the text:

"... the freedom of the glory of the children of God."

By God's grace we want to be, or continue to be:

A WORSHIP CENTER A SOUL-SAVING COMMUNITY A SPIRITUAL RESOURCE FOR E.N.C. A RESOURCE FOR THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST A CONCERN FOR RADICAL OBEDIENCE TO THE REVEALED WILL OF GOD

And I return to Romans for a scriptural "how to" closing for this message:

SANCTIFICATION IS SOCIAL: [Accept] 12:5 "So we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another."
SANCTIFICATION IS LOVING: [Be aware of] 14:1-3 "Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One man has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. Let not him who eats regard with contempt him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him."
We are strong and weak. We can and must live together and promote spiritual health. We must recognize our temptation to judgment and/or to contempt.
SANCTIFICATION IS CHERISHING ONE ANOTHER: [Live by] 15:1-2 "Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves."
We can learn to think of each other as God's gifts to the community. Each of us has something important and vital to give, if it is not crushed out of us before its time. Each of us has share in the responsibility to cherish all the rest. Together we can discover what it means to live in a Spirit-filled community.

Prayer EH #47 God of Grace and God of Glory