Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from Rom. 15. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- A great deal of “learning” is hard work! I remember as a youngster even learning the basics of “sports” was hard work, and I loved playing games. But to learn the right technique in pitching a baseball or hitting a baseball, or releasing a good shot in basketball, or having the right physical positioning and posture to successfully block and tackle – all of this was hard work. Ultimately I loved playing enough, however, to work hard at gaining these skills and techniques.
- My parents would attest that I had much greater difficulty with “learning” other things – like how to do chores properly, how to be mannerly and respectful, and how to succeed at learning in school. Now, these were all things that I didn’t love or even enjoy much – so it was excruciating to have to learn them, and it required a lot of discipline on the part of my parents and other authorities.
- After a while, I guess that most of us reach some point at which “the joy of learning” hits us. After all, it is much more pleasant to succeed than to fail, and much of success is dependent upon learning. And as our interests and our desires blossom and expand, we understand that our learning has to keep pace if we want to have the pleasure of success in all these different things.
- Learning is the gift of God. He has created our intellect, and He has determined that we will have a development curve – so that we will also have the “joy of learning.” This is true also when it comes to “good,” to things like love, and the truly joyful and deep-seated satisfactions in life. And because of the entry of sin into the world, and into human nature, such “learning” of “good” and “love” is particularly difficult, even painful at times.
- Whether we like it or not, God has determined a way for us to avoid a great deal of the “pain” of learning these truly “good” things – by providing us with the instruction of His Word, and by giving us intellect, so that we do not have to learn by experience, like animals, simply through “operant conditioning,” punishment and other negative experiences. This is the message of our text, that through “what was written in former days,” the Holy Scriptures, we might learn more easily and more pleasantly, through study and intellect, rather than merely through painful conditioning and discipline.
- So we see that the Word of God was “WRITTEN FOR OUR LEARNING,” and this gift – though we may think it difficult and unpleasant – is actually a great expression of God’s great love for us! For:
I. The Bible Was Written So That We Might Learn About God And Have Great Hope In The Gospel, The Message Of His Love And Grace, Through Faith In Jesus Christ Our Savior
Text: “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
John 20:30,31 “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”
Statement: This is the message of the entire Old Testament, and of course, the New Testament as well – that in spite of our sin, our wickedness, our rebellion against God, and even our reluctance at learning and our rebellion against God and good, He still loves us and will do almost anything to have us come back to Him and to know His love. He so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that in spite of our rebellion, whoever believes in Him might have everlasting life.
Application: As a child I often made learning much more difficult than it was. Because I didn’t like certain things, and certain “learning,” I couldn’t see how easy a thing actually was. This was a great frustration to my parents, teachers, and coaches. We are the same with God’s Word – we struggle to grasp that the real message of the Bible is simple, that “God is love.” He loves us, and Jesus laid down His life for us to take away our sin and guilt and restore us to fellowship with God. But if we will stick with it we will come to learn – and we will grow in hope, and optimism, and finally confidence in God’s love for us!
Transition: And having this hope and confidence in God’s love brings a whole panorama of others great blessings to us! For:
II. The Scripture Was Written, And This Learning Provided For Us, So That We Might Have Harmony And Love In Our Relationships Through Faith
Text: “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus. . . . Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”
Eph. 2:13-16 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, Who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”
Statement: Sinful human beings cannot peacefully coexist without forgiveness and growth in love. If the principle of our relationship with one another is “performance,” we can have no relationships – “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” and “if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
Application: Now, apart from knowing God’s principle for relationship, what He established in Christ Jesus, we cannot know forgiveness – and we wouldn’t believe that we actually have not only permission to be forgiving, but that this is God’s will for us. Those who have “learned” of God’s love in Christ Jesus grow in learning how to forgive, why we must forgive, and ultimately the great blessedness of forgiving. If God is forgiving it must be good to be forgiving, for this is in fact being like God. But this blessing of “learning” is given only through “what was written” in God’s Word, the Bible. There are times that we might not like it, but like all other “learning,” God has given the Scripture to us to richly bless us. And there is no other learning that more richly blesses us!
Transition: And this learning leads us to another blessedness:
III. The Scripture Was Written So That We Might Be Glorifying God And The Lord Jesus Christ Together
Text: “that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Statement: We actually glorify God by welcoming one another in forgiveness, mercy, love, and compassion – just as Christ has welcomed us. Where this isn’t happening there really is no “glorifying” of God – regardless of what our lips and tongues are doing. God’s glory is His love, and it is His glory that His love teaches us and empowers us to love. This is marvelous “learning” – though completely repugnant to our dark, selfish, sinful nature. And this learning also comes through Holy Scripture, though we are reluctant to learn this way and to learn these things about forgiveness.
Application: But if we have come to know that God is good, and if we have come to know and appreciate the goodness of His love for us in Christ Jesus – that in Him we have forgiveness and salvation – then surely we can give consideration to the reality that His Word must also be love, and goodness, and a great blessing for us! Then we will be glorifying God – both in our worship, and also in our learning from His Word, which compels us to forgive and to welcome one another. And the more we learn, the more united our voice is in glorifying God! And surely, this is good.
Transition: And the end result of this is an ever growing blessedness in all things, in the whole of our being, for:
IV. The Scripture Was Written So That We Can Be Filled With The Spirit, With Joy And Peace In Believing
Text: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
Statement: So you see the loving goal and deep desire of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – that you be enriched in every aspect of your being with hope, and joy, and peace. All of this comes by the power of the Holy Spirit – through our “learning” the Holy Scriptures.
Application: Again, such learning may be contrary to our sinful nature, and we may be rebellious, but as much as we want to “succeed” in the things that really matter – our relationships of goodness and love, and the goodness of our heart, spirit, and being – we must “learn,” or rather be taught by the Holy Spirit of God. The Scriptures were given for just this purpose, for just this blessing!
Conclusion: Athletics, language, mathematics, business, logic, writing, history, literature, science – all of these branches of “learning” may be full of good things that lead to success and greater enjoyment of this earthly life. We had to discipline ourselves, and be disciplined, in order to “learn,” but we endured it and we recognize the benefits of such learning.
Greater benefits by far are given through “learning” God’s Word, what He caused to be written for our instruction. We may have to discipline ourselves – force ourselves to attend the teaching of God’s Word – but the blessings God bestows through such “learning” far surpass anything else this life has to offer!
And these are blessings that rub off and benefit everyone else we interact with, and ultimately the whole world. They are to the glory of God, they are His glory, the glory of His great love for us! So let us glorify Him, allowing Him to bless us through His Word! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.