1 Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved. 2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. 3 Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. (Philippians 4:1-5 – NASB95)
Our Lord and Savior loves it when His people are unified (Ps. 133:1; Eph. 4:1-3). Yet, virtually every New Testament epistle addresses the problem of unity in the church. In the passage above, Paul uses a word that I believe is key to unity in every relationship: gentle. The Greek word is very difficult to translate into English because it has so many nuances, but the best words I can use to describe it is “sweet reasonableness.” Just typing those words gave a lift to my spirit. It’s like a breath of fresh air to speak them. Think for a moment about the implications of “sweet reasonableness,” then say those words out loud. Then think about having that be the way we interact with all people at all times. Imagine how different many of our thoughts, attitudes, and conversations would be. I want that to be a characteristic of my life and of our church family. I also want you to think of the implications that has regarding Covid-19.
It was mid-March 2020 when the first “stay at home / shelter in place” orders were given in California related to Covid-19. What we thought would last for 2 or 3 weeks has continued on in various forms for a year now. Numbers are declining and there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel, but some “experts” are warning of new strains. This has been a difficult year for all of us and many people have admitted that this test of faith (James 1:2-4) has revealed weaknesses. Whether it is the fear of man or laziness or gossip or fear of death or pornography or a myriad of other sinful tendencies, the difficulties and isolation of this past year has brought a number of things to people’s attention. Has the Lord revealed areas of your life where you need to grow? Take some time to evaluate what you have learned about yourself and how you can grow in godliness as a result of that knowledge.
This past year was especially difficult for church leaders. I have interacted with hundreds of pastors and missionaries from all over the world about Covid-19 regulations, what they were doing, why they were doing it, and the response of their people. Many of them spoke of praying for wisdom like never before (James 1:5). They read the arguments for and against submitting to government regulations and found out it wasn’t as simple as some claimed. Their church leadership wrestled through the biblical commands and principles and made difficult decisions for their congregation. They expressed grief over people leaving their churches because the church leadership followed their government guidelines or because they didn’t follow their government guidelines. Many felt vilified regardless of which way they chose to go. This has led a large number of men to leave church leadership or leave their local church.
What do you do when there appear to be competing commands and principles in Scripture? What do you do when different governing officials disagree with one another, or if their commands appear to contradict the Constitution? How do you stay at home in subjection to governing authorities (Rom. 13; Tit. 3; 1 Pet. 2) and not forsake the assembling together (Heb. 10:23-25)? How do you watch on Livestream or Zoom, and practice the “One Another” commands of Scripture? When do you submit to government and when do you practice civil disobedience? What do you do when godly leaders from biblical churches, disagree with one another as to what individual churches should do?
This Sunday morning, March 14, 2021, I am going to address those questions and more. Lord willing, I will explain some of the biblical commands and principles that our elders used in making policies for our church family. I will explain how we looked at the situation according to historical, biblical, and constitutional principles.
Our elders met on Tuesday night this week to discuss Covid-19 related policies at church. That led to the survey we sent out to all of our regular attenders. This Saturday morning (March 13th), we will make some decisions about new policies we will implement at church as the government regulations are being eased. Please pray for wisdom as we seek the best policies at this time for our church. I will share those new policies with you at the end of the sermon on Sunday morning. Please pray for me that I would be able to communicate these things effectively and the Lord would use His Word to unify our church family. And please pray that a spirit of “sweet reasonableness” would pervade our church as we submit both to the Lord and to the elders whom He has called to serve and lead our church (Heb. 13:17).