Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

Spiritual Responsibilities of Christians to each other

1 Cor 12:14-26 teaches that each member in a church fulfills a certain responsibility in the “body.” Notice several responsibilities Christians have toward one another.

1. Love one another.

1. Definition: Not a romantic feeling, but a decision to do what’s best for another. agape` — Godly, sacrificial, giving kind of love (c.f., John 3:16).
2. Love is:
   1. a commandment John 15:12, Rom 12:10, 1 John 3:11
   2. an evidence of being saved 1 John 3:14, 4:7
   3. an evidence of being a disciple John 13:35
   4. the proper response to God’s love for us. 1 John 4:11

Q.– can you love somebody without liking him? [Yes, because love is not a feeling.]

2. Pray for one another. [how many have a prayer list?]

Pray for:

1. effective evangelism 2 Thes 3:1 [make most of opportunities]
2. bold testimony Eph 6:19 [We need boldness. Easy to be timid. ]
3. physical healing James 5:16
4. maturity Col 1:9-10 [i.e., spiritual growth]

3. Serve one another. Gal 5:13

1. True leaders are servants. Matt 20:25-28
2. Spiritual gifts are to be used to serve. 1 Pet 4:10

4. General responsibilities:

1. Do good to one another. Gal 6:10
2. Be kind to one another. Eph 4:32
3. Forgive one another. Col 3:13
4. Edify one another. Rom 14:19; Eph 5:19

Application: Our youth ministry participants should love, pray for, serve, forgive, edify, and be good and kind to each other. It should be sheltered from insults, name-calling, ridicule, sarcasm, and any other action that could hurt another person.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 10:38 pm and is filed under Cultural Issues, Practical Theology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.