Sermon Central
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Worshiping God With Our Bodies 1 Tim. 2:8-10
Contributed by Luke Vasicek on Mar 14, 2024 (message contributor)
Summary: We worship God with our holy hands ( 1 Tim. 2:8), our modest dress (1 Tim. 2:9-10), and through controlling our tongue (James 3:9-10)
Worshiping God With Our Bodies
1. Lift up Holy Hands in Worship (1 Tim. 2:8; Psalm 134:2).
A. Worship without _anger_ (1 Tim. 2:8).
I. Sometimes there is a fine line between _anger_ and _determination_. Determination and excitement often give way to anger. Most people are aware of circadian rhythms (the emotional and physical phases your body passes through in a 24 hour duration of time), and some suggest a change in this circadian rhythm caused by longer days is what causes higher suicide and mania rates in the Spring. (see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5900367/). Regardless of the cause, the Spring is a time when people feel excited, motivated, angry, sad, and desirous of a change and improvement all at once!
II. Paul warns fathers against living lives of _anger_ (Col. 3:21). Men are singled out here–not because this is sexist, but because this is appropriate. It is not stereotyping; it is not and over-
generalization. God is not afraid to address men directly. We need it!
Our worship, and our families, are supposed to be without uncontrolled anger. Worshiping the Lord starts on Monday morning with our families.
B. Worship without _argument_ (1 Tim. 2:8).
Prov 15: 18
A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,
but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.
Proverbs 20:3 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.
Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.
Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky
16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
Application: Worshiping without quarreling enables us to focus on God and on others. A big part of worship is _loving_ others well. Our last passage, Philippians 2:14-16 ties this peaceful life free from quarreling to evangelism–quarreling hurts our relationships, our worship, and our evangelism.
2. We Dress to _Serve_ God, Not to Impress _People_ (1 Tim. 2:9-10).
A. Definition of Modesty: “Sufficiently covering and concealing our bodies.”
(1 Corinthians 12:23). Let’s try an experiment!
B. Now Jesus at first wore swaddling clothes as a baby, and then he wore a tunic (John 19:23), and a cloak (Mark 6:56) over that, and probably a belt (like John the Baptist (Matt 3:4) and Paul (Acts 21:11)) and sandals (Luke 3:16).
An Irish Presbyterian minister says “It is not an attack upon women. It does not reflect any disrespect for women. Quite the opposite, we want to uphold the dignity of Christian women so that they are not cheapened by conformity to the standards of this world.” – David Silversides
C. We love and respect ourselves in appropriate ways when we cover ourselves. It is not shameful to cover; it is shameful to uncover at inappropriate times (Lev. 18:14). The world gets this reversed and all turned around.
We live in a time where bodies, especially women’s bodies, are regarded as sacred, objects of worship that others must appreciate and revere (worship them.
"Each individual woman’s body demands to be accepted on its own terms." — Gloria Steinem
“I’m comfortable in my body and I don’t mind putting it on display…”— Britney Griner
Thought leaders are conditioning and leading the culture to a worship of the body. This is in contrast to the Biblical command to worship God alone, and showing appropriate respect to both men and women for their roles and abilities God has given them.
Application: The way we dress should be practical (not too expensive, not excessive, not inhibitive of work), and should cover our bodies relatively thoroughly. This aids in worship by allowing others and ourselves to focus, revere, and worship God rather than our own bodies.
3. Our Mouths Praise God, Not Curse _People_ (Jas. 3:9-10).
A. Hypocrisy is _reality_. Accusing others of hypocrisy is being a _hypocrite_ yourself!
Nevertheless, the Lord takes this sin seriously, and repentance is in order when we realize we have been hypocritical.
B. James gives a reason why we cannot curse men or women–because we are made in God’s image. Men and women both are equally made in God’s image. They emphasize different aspects of his nature, but they are both equal.
Conclusion:
The Gospel shows us that we can be forgiven, and ultimately re-made to perfectly conform to God’s character. This image right now is damaged, hurt, sick and corrupted; but thanks be got God that we can live with him in eternity if we repent of our sins and come to him in faith!
