Sermon series: BEHAVING LIKE A CHRISTIAN

Subject: The Beauty of Humility in the Christian Family

Romans 12:3, 16
"For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith."
Verse 16
"Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion."
Micah 6:8
"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
James 14:10
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up."
1 Peter 5:5
"Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’"
Isaiah 57:15
"For this is what the high and lofty One says--He who lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite."
Proverbs 22:4
"Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life.
Proverbs 29:23
"A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.

The scriptures we have selected today set the theme for our lesson...HUMILITY. If we do not learn humility, we will learn humiliation! Only if man strikes rock bottom in the sense of his own nothingness will he strike the Rock of Ages.
Some time ago I came across the story of a man who imagined himself to be quite spiritual. He was talking with a more mature friend, and he asked his friend to pray for him that he might be humble. "Pray for me that I might be nothing," he said.
His friend replied with some wisdom, probably thinking of 1 Corinthians 1:28, "You

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are nothing, brother. Just take it by faith."
1 Corinthians 1:27-29 reads:
"But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence."
The smaller we are the more room God has!
Humility is to make a right estimate of oneself. Humility is such a frail and delicate thing that he who dares to think that he has it, proves by that single thought that he has it not. Nothing sets a person so much out of the devil’s reach as humility. To be humble to superiors is duty, to equals courtesy, to inferiors nobleness. Humility and meekness are not weaknesses, but strength harnessed for service.
Humility isn’t thinking meanly of oneself, it isn’t thinking of self at all! The truly humble man does not know he is humble. Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone.
John Ruskin wrote:
"I believe the first test of a truly great man is his humility.
The opposite character quality of humility is PRIDE. Our Bible speaks often of the sin of pride.
Proverbs 16:18
"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."
Proverbs 11:2
"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom."
Proverbs 26:12
"Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him."
2 Chronicles 26:16
"But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense."
Pride is the only disease known to man that makes everyone sick except the person who has it.
Nothing is more distasteful to God than self-conceit. This first and fundamental sin in essence aims at enthroning self at the expense of God...Pride is a sin of whose presence its victim is least conscious...If we are honest, when we measure ourselves by the life of our Lord Jesus Christ who humbled Himself even to death on a cross, we cannot but be overwhelmed with the tawdriness and shabbiness, and even the vileness of our hearts.

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Humility is our subject today and our text in Romans 12 says: "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has given (dealt) to each one a measure of faith."
The Amplified Bible reads: "For by the grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith, apportioned by God to him."
When we read the previous chapters in Romans, we are clearly taught that inflated pride has no place in a believer’s life. This is especially significant in light of Paul’s teaching up to this point in his letter. The Jews are not better than the Gentiles; the Gentiles are not better than the Jews. Rather, all are dependent on God's mercy for their salvation, thus there is no room for pride. Any such pride would undermine the oneness vital to the growth of the church. Each believer’s personal appraisal ought to be honest. Neither an inflated ego nor a deflated person is free to obey. God has given each believer a measure of faith with which to serve Him. This expression refers to the spiritual capacity and/or power given to each person to carry out his or her function in the body of Christ. It is God's discernment, not ours, that gives out the measure for service. Whatever we have in the way of natural abilities or spiritual gifts--all should be used with humility for building up the church.
If we are proud, we cannot exercise our faith and gifts to benefit others. And if we consider ourselves worthless, we also withhold what God intended to deliver to others through us.
Healthy self-esteem is important because some of us think too little of ourselves; on the other hand, some of us overestimate ourselves. The key to an honest and accurate evaluation is knowing the basis of our self-worth--our identity in Christ. Apart from Him, we aren’t capable of very much by eternal standards; in Him, we are valuable and capable of worthy service. Evaluating ourselves by worldly standards of success and achievement can cause us to think too much about our worth in the eyes of others and thus miss our true value in God’s eyes. We must always remember that the standards by which the world judges a man are not necessarily the standards by which God judges him. Saintliness has

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nothing to do with rank, or wealth, or birth.
Dr. James Black in his own vivid way described a scene in an early Christian congregation. A notable convert has been made, and the great man comes to his first church service. He enters the room where the service is being held. The Christian leader points to a place. "Will you sit there, please?"
"But" says the man, "I cannot sit there, for that would be to sit beside my slave."
"Will you sit there, please?" Repeats the leader. "But," says the man, "surely not beside my slave."
"Will you sit there, please?" Repeats the leader once again.
And the man at last crosses the room, sits beside his slave, and gives him the kiss of peace.
That is what Christianity did; and that is what it alone could do in the Roman Empire. The Christian Church was the only place where master and slave sat side by side. It is still the place where all distinctions are gone, for with God there is no respect of persons.
James, the pastor of The First Christian church in Jerusalem two thousand years ago speaks to the same subject:
"My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.
For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
But you dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?
Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scriptures, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors." (James 2:1-9)
Remember our text from Romans 12..."Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not

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set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble..."
In Romans 15:7, Paul writes: "Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God."
I grew up in a church where "acceptance" by others depended primarily on what you did or did not do. And, as you might guess, the list of "do’s and don’ts" certainly did not comprise a biblical list. Rather, it consisted of extra-scriptural activities, most of which were cultural.
What I’m describing, of course, is 20th-century legalism. And nothing shatters true unity among Christians more thoroughly than extra-biblical rules and regulations which are used to evaluate a person’s relationship with Jesus Christ. When acceptance or rejection of others is based on a legalistic mind set, it leads rapidly to judgmental behavior and pseudo-spirituality. It also creates false guilt, destroys personal freedom to really be what God wants a Christian to be, and often leads to a violation of the true biblical standards for Christian behavior. Of course, in this environment, those who supposedly lived up to the expectations of the group, were presented as being more spiritual than others. In this distorted spiritual setting, humility was absent and pride dominated.
This is a sad commentary on what Christianity has come to be in many situations. The Bible does lay down behavioral expectations for Christians, but it also condemns acceptance or rejection based on external patterns that go beyond specific scriptural statements.
In Romans 14:1 Paul writes: "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters."
Prejudice, favoritism, and discrimination in the body of Christ violate the law of God. Furthermore, they violate the very nature of the functioning body of Christ. We are all one. Every member is important--rich or poor, young or old, black or white, weak or strong. If we show favoritism, we also destroy the unity, harmony, and oneness in the body of Christ which Christ and Paul both prayed for and commanded.
Listen to the prayer of Jesus:
"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word: that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me." (John 17:20-21)
In the Amplified Bible, our text from Romans 12:16 reads like this: "Live in harmony with one another; do not be

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haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to [people, things] and give yourself to humble tasks. Never overestimate yourself or be wise in your own conceits.
Proverbs 3:5-7
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil."
The message is very clear...Christians should be willing to associate with people of low position even more than others, because that is what most of us are! We are to associate with those who seem unimportant even if we have a high position. Jesus did it and was criticized for it! "For John came neither eating nor drinking and they say, ‘he has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a wine-bibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!" But wisdom is justified by her children." (Matthew 11:18-19)
Our text invites us to give ourselves to humble tasks. Jesus is our great example. John 13 records for us a beautiful picture of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet." Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded." (John 13:3-5)
Few incidents in the gospel story so reveal the character of Jesus and so perfectly show His humility and love!
Jesus knew all things had been given into His hands. He knew that His hour of humiliation was near, but He knew that His hour of glory was also near. Such a consciousness might well have filled Him with pride; and yet, with the knowledge of the power and the glory that were His, He washed His disciples’ feet!
At that moment when He might have had supreme pride, He had supreme humility. Love is always like that. When, for example, someone falls ill, the person who loves him will perform the most menial services and delight to do them, because love is like that. Sometimes men feel that they are too distinguished to do the humble things, too important to do some menial task. Jesus was not so. He knew that He was Lord of all, and yet He washed His disciples’ feet!
Jesus knew that He had come from God and that He was going to God. He might well have had a certain contempt for men and for the things of

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this world. He might well have thought that He was finished with the world now, for He was on His way back to the Father and heaven’s glory. It was just at this time, He went to the depths and limits of His service of men. To wash the feet of the guests at a feast was the duty of a slave. The disciples of the rabbis were supposed to render their masters personal service, but a service like this would never have been dreamed of. The wonderful thing about Jesus was that His nearness to His Father, so far from separating Him from men, brought Him nearer than ever to them!
Jesus was aware that soon He would be betrayed. Such knowledge might so easily have turned Him to bitterness and hatred; but it made His heart run out in greater love than ever. The astounding thing was that the more men hurt Him, the more Jesus loved them.
It is easy and so natural to resent wrong and to grow bitter under insult and injury; but Jesus met the greatest injury and the supreme disloyalty, with the greatest humility and the supreme love!
Not only would He be betrayed, but Peter would soon deny their friendship, and when the chips were down, all of His disciples would desert Him!
In the next hours they would repeatedly display ignorance, laziness, and lack of trust. It was indeed a sorry lot that gathered in the upper room. Even with good reasons to reject the entire group, Jesus deliberately showed to them the full extent of His love! The other gospel writers record a discussion the disciples had on the way to this meal when they argued about who would have the greatest position in the new kingdom. Jesus’ humble service contrasted sharply with their search for high places of prestige in the kingdom and their desire to be the greatest. Unselfish service to each other and to those not part of the inner circle was to be one of the distinctive marks of Jesus’ true disciples.
When we feel the temptation to pride or to competitive comparisons with other believers, the antidote will be a healthy dose of service!
"Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.
And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."
But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized

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with the baptism that I am baptized with?"
They said to Him, "We are able."
So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."
And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Himself and said: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.
Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.
And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:20-28)
In a sentence, Jesus taught the essence of true greatness...greatness is determined by servanthood. The true leader places his or her needs last, as Jesus exemplified in His life and in His death. Being a "servant" did not mean occupying a servile positions; rather, it meant having an attitude of life that freely attended to others’ needs without expecting or demanding anything in return.
Seeking honor, respect, and the attention of others runs contrary to Jesus’ requirements for His servants. An attitude of service and humility brings true greatness in God's kingdom. Jesus described leadership from a new perspective...instead of using people, we are to serve them.
Remember our text: "Readily adjust yourself to people and things and give yourself to humble tasks."
All through the Bible there runs the conviction that it is only the humble who can know the blessings of God. God will save the humble person (Job 22:29). A man’s pride will bring him low; but honour shall uphold the humble spirit (Proverbs 29:33). God dwells on high, but He is also with him that is of a humble and contrite spirit (Isaiah 57:15). They that fear the Lord will humble their souls in His sight, and the greater a man is the more he ought to humble himself, if he is to find favor in the sight of God. Only when a man realizes his own ignorance can he ask the guidance of God. Only when a man realizes his own poverty in the things that matter will he pray for the riches of God’s grace. Only when he realizes his own weakness, will he draw upon God’s strength.