Reconciliation

[00:00:20] And welcome to Reconciliation. That's the newest edition and episode for Become A Competent Biblical Counselor.

[00:00:28] So we're going to be talking about Reconciliation. I'm Dr. Dave Jones, so let's get started.

[00:00:34] The Church of Philippi had a division. Indeed, there were two women who were at the heads of the factions in that church.

[00:00:43] Now, we know about that division because all through the first part of the letter, Paul very tactfully speaks about unity.

[00:00:52] For instance, at the end of chapter 1, he's saying that we have to be of one spirit, one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.

[00:01:01] And then he goes on into chapter 2, talking about being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

[00:01:12] All that stress on unity becomes clear when you read through the fourth chapter of Philippians, because there, Paul gets down to the nitty-gritty negatively.

[00:01:23] He names the people who were involved in that division.

[00:01:26] He says, and you can imagine, can't you, as this letter was read for the first time from the pulpit to the whole congregation,

[00:01:33] you can imagine, as these names of these individuals were read, how they felt about it,

[00:01:38] and how the people who were sort of stacked up behind each one of these women who were the leaders in the church,

[00:01:45] how they must have felt about this.

[00:01:47] So here comes this letter to Philippi.

[00:01:50] And here, let's say the preacher is reading the letter along,

[00:01:55] and this is what he reads beginning in verse 1 of chapter 4.

[00:02:00] The whole congregation is sitting down there, and here's Iotus and Syntyche,

[00:02:07] who are the two leaders of the two factions in the church.

[00:02:11] And they hear him read this, where he says,

[00:02:15] Therefore, my beloved brethren, whom I long to see, wish I were there, wish I could help you out,

[00:02:21] my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

[00:02:25] I urge Iodia.

[00:02:28] Boy, can't you see the whole crowd that's stacked up around Syntyche beginning to cheer right now?

[00:02:34] Yeah, go give it to her, Paul.

[00:02:36] You tell her about that.

[00:02:37] She's the one that's wrong.

[00:02:39] I urge Iodia, and I urge Syntyche.

[00:02:44] Now you can see Iodia's faction beginning to brighten up a little bit on the other side of the room.

[00:02:49] I urge Iodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony, or literally to be of one mind in the Lord.

[00:02:57] Well, you see, there was a division in this church, and these two women were all over each other,

[00:03:04] and their groups were beginning to form with them.

[00:03:07] Paul says this should not be.

[00:03:09] You need to stand firm together.

[00:03:12] You need to come to reconciliation one with the other.

[00:03:18] Well, you don't always have to agree about every little thing with one another,

[00:03:23] but you have to agree to be agreeable.

[00:03:27] You have to come to the place where you confess your wrongs and your faults and your sins,

[00:03:33] and you have to learn how to talk things through from the Word of God until you do come to unity of mind.

[00:03:41] But you're never going to come to unity of mind until you come to unity of spirit.

[00:03:46] Until you're willing to work together and you confess your wrongs.

[00:03:51] So he says, look, I urge Iodia and I urge Syntyche to be of one mind in the Lord.

[00:03:59] Now today, I'm talking to people who need that same exhortation.

[00:04:04] There are some of you out there who have been having some spats and some fights and some arguments

[00:04:09] with some people in your church.

[00:04:13] Indeed, maybe there's some lady sitting right out there now thinking,

[00:04:17] there's another woman over there that I'm going to have to face when I go to church Sunday.

[00:04:21] All her crowd and all of her ideas and all of her views and so on.

[00:04:25] Boy, I just wish she'd get straightened out and so on.

[00:04:30] And maybe the same woman that she's thinking about is sitting there next to her radio listening this morning too

[00:04:36] and thinking about her in much the same way.

[00:04:39] Well, that's how it must have been with Iodia and with Syntyche.

[00:04:45] I want to urge both of you ladies, I want to urge you both to be quite serious about this matter.

[00:04:52] We can't do the work of the Lord in disunity.

[00:04:56] We have to be of one mind in the Lord.

[00:04:59] We have to come together in reconciliation,

[00:05:02] confessing the wrongs that we've done one to another

[00:05:05] and seeking not only God's forgiveness, but each other's forgiveness.

[00:05:10] And that's what Paul was concerned about and wanted to see happen in the church.

[00:05:16] So he personally urges each one of them to get these things squared away

[00:05:21] and get them squared away right away.

[00:05:23] But he didn't stop there.

[00:05:25] And it's this that I want to stress today.

[00:05:28] He goes on in verse 3 to say,

[00:05:30] Indeed, true comrade or genuine or true yoke fellow.

[00:05:35] It says in the King James or fellow bearer of the yoke,

[00:05:39] the one who carries the yoke or one who is the yoke with me,

[00:05:43] the hook that joins two oxen together.

[00:05:46] And Paul says, you're a worker in the same work that I'm doing.

[00:05:49] You're a comrade or with me in the same kind of work that I'm doing.

[00:05:55] Indeed, here he is probably addressing, therefore,

[00:05:58] the pastor of the church who is reading this letter at that moment.

[00:06:01] And he's saying, not only do I urge Iodia and I urge Syntyche

[00:06:06] to be of one mind in the Lord, but indeed, I ask you,

[00:06:10] you who work in the same kind of work that I'm involved in

[00:06:13] and that I'm engaged in as a minister of Jesus Christ,

[00:06:17] I urge you, pastor, to help these women who have shared my struggle

[00:06:22] on the cause of the gospel together with Clement also

[00:06:25] and the rest of my fellow workers whose names were in the book of life.

[00:06:30] Paul says there was a time when these women were very faithful

[00:06:34] working for Jesus Christ.

[00:06:36] Their services were being used for him.

[00:06:38] They were a real blessing to the work of the Lord.

[00:06:41] They were working in his very struggle in the cause of the gospel

[00:06:45] when he was there in Philippi.

[00:06:47] They helped him.

[00:06:48] Now, instead of struggling for the gospel

[00:06:51] and fighting against all the forces of the world

[00:06:53] and the flesh and the devil,

[00:06:55] all their energies and all of their efforts

[00:06:57] are now being drained away

[00:06:59] as they were fighting each other.

[00:07:02] And so he says, look,

[00:07:04] you were once productive in the work of Christ.

[00:07:07] Now you let all of your energies be wasted

[00:07:10] over this terrible, awful disunity in the church,

[00:07:14] which not only wastes energy,

[00:07:16] but it begins to tear down the work of the church of Christ.

[00:07:20] So I'm saying to you, get on a stick here.

[00:07:23] Get that whole issue reconciled.

[00:07:27] And he's saying, indeed,

[00:07:30] I not only personally urge you to get it reconciled

[00:07:34] and say this to you, Iodia,

[00:07:36] and I say this to you, Syntyche,

[00:07:39] but I want the pastor of that church to sit down

[00:07:42] and be sure that it happens.

[00:07:45] I'm asking him to help these two women.

[00:07:47] I'm asking him to sit down

[00:07:49] and bring about this reconciliation by biblical counseling.

[00:07:53] And you know, there may be a pastor

[00:07:56] even listening in today

[00:07:57] who knows that there's a division in his church,

[00:08:00] but he's been hesitant.

[00:08:02] He's been fearful.

[00:08:04] He hasn't really gotten involved in the situation.

[00:08:07] He just let it go on and on and on.

[00:08:10] That is not the way to deal with the sheep in your flock.

[00:08:13] You must have the courage

[00:08:15] to take this matter into your hands.

[00:08:18] If the two people who are involved in the problem

[00:08:21] on their own

[00:08:22] will not come to reconciliation on their own,

[00:08:25] then you must become involved as well.

[00:08:28] That's what Paul is saying here.

[00:08:30] When others fail to bring about that reconciliation themselves,

[00:08:34] then the pastor of the church ought to become involved

[00:08:36] in that situation.

[00:08:38] Now, let's suppose Iodia,

[00:08:41] who was willing to be reconciled with Syntyche,

[00:08:45] who was not willing to be reconciled,

[00:08:47] or the other way around.

[00:08:49] Also, the pastor would be somebody

[00:08:51] to bring into the picture in order to help.

[00:08:54] That's what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 18

[00:08:57] when he talked about going to another party

[00:09:00] who had offended you personally

[00:09:02] and trying to bring about reconciliation.

[00:09:05] In other words,

[00:09:07] clearly in that chapter of Matthew 18,

[00:09:11] it shows that reconciliation precedes worship.

[00:09:16] If you go to the altar

[00:09:17] and remember somebody has something against you,

[00:09:20] leave your gift at the altar,

[00:09:21] go and be reconciled,

[00:09:23] then come off your gift at the altar.

[00:09:26] So reconciliation is paramount.

[00:09:29] But in this situation,

[00:09:31] if the other party refused to be reconciled,

[00:09:33] then take one or two others.

[00:09:36] And if that did not work,

[00:09:38] then officially take the matter to the church

[00:09:40] and bring about an issue of the matter

[00:09:42] by a deliberation of the church,

[00:09:44] which would become a court of the church

[00:09:47] to try the whole matter and adjudicate it.

[00:09:50] Well, Paul is here working on that second stage level.

[00:09:54] He's saying,

[00:09:55] I want the two of you to get it squared off,

[00:09:58] but I want you to see it, pastor,

[00:10:00] that it does not get squared off

[00:10:02] if they don't do it on their own.

[00:10:04] Then you must be sure you move in

[00:10:06] and you help them do it.

[00:10:08] Is there some problem between you

[00:10:11] and another person in your church?

[00:10:12] Well, maybe if you haven't been able to settle it,

[00:10:16] you may need the help of your pastor.

[00:10:19] I urge you to try to get this matter settled first

[00:10:22] with the individual,

[00:10:24] but then if impossible,

[00:10:26] go to your pastor,

[00:10:27] tell him your desire,

[00:10:28] tell him your concern

[00:10:30] and prayerfully be willing to follow his advice

[00:10:32] that he gives you from the word of God.

[00:10:35] Lord, help divisions

[00:10:37] within the church of Christ,

[00:10:39] which are sapping so much useful energy

[00:10:41] that ought to be poured out

[00:10:42] in the work of furthering the gospel of Christ.

[00:10:46] Help, Lord, we pray that these energies

[00:10:48] may be conserved.

[00:10:51] Helping these divisions

[00:10:52] that tear up churches

[00:10:53] and tear up people to be stopped.

[00:10:55] And largely, Lord,

[00:10:56] we pray that that may be

[00:10:57] through following the advice

[00:10:59] that we read here

[00:11:00] to become reconciled one with another

[00:11:02] and become of one mind in the Lord.

[00:11:05] And Lord, give pastors courage

[00:11:07] to reach in and help people

[00:11:09] who on their own

[00:11:09] find themselves unwilling

[00:11:11] or unable to do so.

[00:11:13] We pray for Christ's sake.

[00:11:15] Amen.

[00:11:17] So there's reconciliation.

[00:11:18] Gives you an idea

[00:11:20] what the Bible says

[00:11:20] that you must do.

[00:11:22] If you have any questions

[00:11:23] or concerns about this,

[00:11:25] give me a note.

[00:11:27] Write to me

[00:11:28] at BibleHelp4U

[00:11:30] at gmail.com.

[00:11:31] That's at BibleHelp,

[00:11:34] the number 4U,

[00:11:36] at gmail.com.

[00:11:37] Thanks for listening.