Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church and Gloria Deo Baptist 15 July 2015
πάντας τιμήσατε, τὴν ἀδελφότητα ἀγαπᾶτε, τὸν Θεὸν φοβεῖσθε, τὸν βασιλέα τιμᾶτε.
· Who is “all”?
o There are some people God’s word says not to honor – fools, for instance: Proverbs 26:1-8 “As snow in summer and rain in harvest, So honor is not fitting for a fool... 3 A whip for the horse, A bridle for the donkey, And a rod for the fool's back. 4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes. 6 He who sends a message by the hand of a fool Cuts off his own feet and drinks violence... 8 Like one who binds a stone in a sling Is he who gives honor to a fool.”
o This is no excuse to treat anybody dishonorably, but if God’s word puts limits on who to honor, who is the “all” that we are supposed to proactively honor?
o Because the second word in this verse “all” is plural in Greek and because it is immediately followed by a list with three points, I don’t think that this particular command is saying to honor everybody in the whole world, it is talking about God’s will for us to honor in particular our fellow Christians, God Himself, and our civil authorities in the ways prescribed in the context.
o So even though there are four sentences in this verse, there are only three different commands and only three classes of people.
o I have drawn up a little chart for your reference as we talk through these things, and since there are so many commands and so many applications packed into this one little verse, I would encourage you to jot down one practical idea that comes to your mind in each category in the chart – it may be something God has already led you to do, or it may be something new that you would like to do in obedience to God’s commands here, but I hope that you can take home something practical for yourself and to discuss with your household as well.
o Let’s look at each box on the chart in turn and do a word study on what it means to “honor”
· The first of the three groups is “the brotherhood” which we are to love.
o This command echoes 1 Peter 1:22b “start fervently loving each other from a clean heart”
o Around the year 100 AD, Clement (not Clement of Alexandria that wrote the first commentary on 1 Peter, but another Clement who was one of Paul’s associates from Philippi) wrote a letter following up on Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. In it he describes what it is like for the “brotherhood” to love one another. Listen to this description of the church in Corinth: “Day and night you were anxious for the whole brotherhood, that the number of God’s elect might be saved with mercy and a good conscience. Ye were sincere and uncorrupted, and forgetful of injuries between one another. Every kind of faction and schism was abominable in your sight. You mourned over the transgressions of your neighbors: their deficiencies you deemed your own. Ye never grudged any act of kindness, being ‘ready to every good work.’ Adorned by a thoroughly virtuous and religious life, ye did all things in the fear of God. The commandments and ordinances of the Lord were written upon the tablets of your hearts.” (1 Clement 2:4, Ante-Nicene Fathers) Wow, may God grant that we could love the brotherhood like that!
· The second category is God, whom we are to “fear/respect.”
o Remember that our fear of God, according to 1 Peter 1:17, is based on the fact that God will hold us all accountable to His standards of right and wrong. “And since the Father y’all are calling upon is the One who judges against the work of each man without showing favoritism, y’all should start lifestyling the time of your temporary residence with respectfulness.”
o The simple fact that you don’t relish the prospect of being sent to the place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:48) is reason enough to say “No” to things like idolatry and lying and coveting.
o We love God, which leads us to offer ourselves in service to Him and worship Him, but we also have a healthy respect for His authority and accountability, which leads us to obey Him even when our flesh doesn’t want to.
· Finally the third category is the King or emperor, who is to be honored, but the beginning of this verse applies it to all, so I interpret that to mean that we are to honor[i], not only the civil authority, but also God and our brothers and sisters in Christ. How does the Bible teach us to “honor”? How do you do it?
o One aspect of honor is giving that person gifts or money:
§ This is how King Balak wished to “honor” the prophet Baalam in Numbers 22-24. Now, granted, in the story of Baalam, it was the king paying someone else, but somebody has to pay the civil authorities so that they have the resources they need to govern. Paying taxes is a way to honor our governing authorities. Let us do that cheerfully so they can do what God wants them to do. (Rom. 13:6-7)
§ “Honor” is also the principle behind giving a tithe of our profits to God: Prov. 3:9 “Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase” (NKJV). This is one way we can “honor” God – set aside money to put in the church offering, and, beyond that to help more needy people and missionaries.
§ “Honor” is also the word Paul uses to speak of the church paying the living expenses of widows who are members of the church and who have financial needs (1 Tim. 5:3 “honor those who are widows indeed”), and the same word is used of salarying church elders a few verses later, (1 Tim 5:17-18 “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine... For the Scripture says, "...THE LABORER IS WORTHY OF HIS WAGES." ~NKJV), and the word “honor” is even used in Acts 28:10 of offering provisions to Christians who visit you as a guest to help them on their journey. Who are the guests or elders or widows in your circle of acquaintance that you could honor by sharing of your money or time or resources?
o A second scriptural way to show honor can be found at the end of the book of Esther, when certain Gentiles “honored” the Jews by providing protection for them when they were vulnerable to attack. (Esther 9:3, LXX). Proverbs 14:31 says that the opposite of honor is “oppression.” This doesn’t apply so much to God or to Kings, but are there any vulnerable Christians you know of that you would be able to protect in some way?
§ This might be the vulnerability of their own foolishness. There was a time in my life when I had made some unwise decisions that left me and my family homeless. What a blessing it was to me when church friends welcomed us into their homes and helped me get back on my feet again! They honored me with protection from the elements when I didn’t deserve honor.
§ It may be protecting them from the vulnerability of sickness: The men of Genesseret set a great example for us in Matthew 14:35 “Once the men of that place recognized Him [Jesus], they sent emissaries into all that surrounding country and brought to Him all those who were bad-off, and they were calling Him aside in order to just touch the fringe of His clothing, and as many as touched were delivered.” These were real men of honor. They connected the vulnerable people in their community with someone who could heal them.
§ It may be injustice at work. Do you have a co-worker who is drawing fire for his or her convictions? I remember what an encouragement it was to me when I was feeling unjustly treated at one job and a co-worker met with my managers and vouched for me. He took a risk by sticking his neck out for me, though.
§ Some vulnerability is due to the abuses of evil rulers. Yat Michael and Peter Yen Reith in Nigeria are vulnerable because they are Christian pastors under the oppressive government of a Muslim regime. Through petitions and diplomacy, we can put pressure on the government of Sudan to stop persecuting these men of God, just as we did when they persecuted Miryam Ibrahim and dropped their death sentence as a result of international pressure. Let us be people who honor the brotherhood of believers!
o A third way that the Bible speaks of showing honor is in showing esteem:
§ Proverbs 4:8 speaks of honoring as holding in high regard, and Isaiah 29:13 also mentions saying good things about that person you are trying to honor.
§ This applies to the king – or our civil government. Christians, we are not allowed to despise our President and speak of him with careless disdain. We must show the honor his office is due, with our attitude and with our words. You can disagree and still be respectful. Exodus 22:28 “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.” (NKJV)
§ Even more should we think highly and speak highly of God, who reigns over all.
§ And how about your attitude toward other Christians? Do we show esteem even for those in different traditions that we disagree with? Let us be careful to honor them with our attitude and with our words. James 4:11a reminds us “Do not speak evil of one another, brothers...”
o Finally the Bible speaks of honor in terms of listening to what someone has to say and heeding their advice:
§ The Greek translation of Proverbs 15:22a speaks of the folly of those who do not “honor counsel” (ὑπερτίθενται λογισμοὺς οἱ μὴ τιμῶντες συνέδρια). Do you ask fellow church members for advice and follow it, or are you known for doing your own thing? You know, that would be worth asking somebody else who knows you well – your wife or your brother or sister or friend: “Do you feel like I take your advice?” If they hedge in their answer, you probably need to repent.
§ When it comes to listening to God and heeding Him, the stakes are even higher: Jesus said, “[He] who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life...” (John 5:23b-24a, NKJV) The person who goes to church and then carries on a lifestyle which ignores and disobeys God’s word in daily life does not have everlasting life.
§ Finally, we need to “honor the king” – to listen to and obey our civil authorities. Since we live in a republic, we have multiple legislators, executives, and judges at different levels, not just one king[ii]; God commands us to honor them. They are the ones who can put you in jail, fine you, or even execute lawbreakers, so we need to learn the laws of the land and obey them as carefully as we can. Only four verses ago, the Apostle Peter wrote how to do that, “SUBMIT to every human institution on account of the Lord, whether to a KING, AS unto him who is a superior , 14 or whether to GOVERNORS, AS unto those who are sent by Him for vengeance against evildoers and praise for good-doers.”
· So, “Honor all of them: Love the brotherhood, keep being respectful toward God; keep honoring the king.”
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Types of People
Types of Honor |
Love the Brotherhood (1 Pet. 1:22)
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Fear God
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Honor the King
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Give Resources |
1 Tim. 5:3&17, Acts 28:10
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Prov. 3:9 |
Num. 22? (Rom. 13:7) |
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Protect from harm |
Esther 9:3, Prov. 14:31
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Show Esteem |
(Matt. 8:10, James 4:11)
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Isa. 29:13 |
(Exodus 22:28) |
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Give Heed |
Prov. 15:22a LXX
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5:23-24 |
(1 Pet. 2:13-14) |
All references without parenthesis contain the word “honor” (τιμή-) in the Greek Bible; those in parenthesis do not, but are relevant to the subject.
[i] Timaw (“honor”) is the word in the 5th Commandment, “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12, Deut. 5:6, Mt. 15:4, Eph. 6:2), and is extended to older people in general in Leviticus 19:32a “Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man.”
[ii] Jack Arnold, the father of a friend of mine wrote the following in a sermon: “The Apostle Paul, in Romans 13:1, said essentially the same thing: “Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities.” Whatever kind of government a Christian finds himself under, be it dictatorship, proletariat, republic or democracy, he is to be in submission to it. This statement by Peter and the statement by Paul have profound significance when we realize that these men were writing to Christians who were living under one of the most imperial monsters and tyrannical dictators of all time—Nero, Emperor of Rome. This statement is even more potent when we realize that both Peter and Paul were executed by the state under Nero’s bloody reign.”