Proper Order

Good Morning,

I would assume that most of us have put something together, whether a toy for a child or something we bought to use for the family, and rather than following the instructions, we simply started putting things together ourselves. On most occasions, we found that if we skip a step in the proper order, it is almost impossible to complete the project. Then we find ourselves disassembling, going to the directions, and reassembling in order. Doing things in the proper order is how to get the desired result.

I was preaching out of town, and prior to my arrival, the pastor mentioned that the theme for the year was something about love (I cannot remember the exact phrase):a renewal of love, or a goal of love, but basically it was a good, warm, and fuzzy annual theme.  He was probably hoping I would preach something nice, which, to honor the pastor, I did, but I probably will not preach there again.

Obviously, love is important. Scriptures that mention God so loves the world, and that they will know we are Christians by our love are many, but a proper order is tragically missing in our modern religious movement. Without a lengthy Bible study, I would like to mention 2 Peter 1:5–9.

Peter offers a list of things to us, but the interesting phrase he uses is “add to.” He mentions the first item and then says to add the second, the third, the fourth, and so on. There was a reason for the order.  If the order is mixed, the desired product will not be produced.

In case you are not near a Bible to look at it, this is the order: faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity.

You will notice that brotherly kindness and charity are on the list, but you will also notice they are last on the list. Kindness and charity are built upon a foundation of faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, and godliness. Summarizing brotherly kindness and charity with the word love cannot be biblical love unless it is built on a proper biblical foundation. If you love roses, you cannot love weeds, gophers, or aphids. If you love holiness, you cannot love sin or sinful things. In order to have biblical love, first, you need to build a foundation of all of those other items mentioned so that you only use “approved things that are excellent.“ (Philippians 1:10)

I like to teach this list of character traits as a pyramid: faith is the broad base, and each item becomes more narrow to create a pyramid look crowned with charity. This formula builds a stable family, a stable relationship, and a stable church.

Across America, we find churches built on love. Flipping the pyramid upside down will cause it to topple over. When the foundation becomes the last building block rather than the first, disaster will follow.

I have heard people say that doctrine divides and that we should focus on love. That formula creates a very unstable product. Notice in verses eight and nine the result of proper or improper order. The subject entails much more than I have time to address now, but allow me to point out one simple thing – assurance of salvation.

While we are knocking on doors and meeting people, it is common for us to encounter people who attend large, contemporary churches that focus on love. The people are warm and friendly, and we may chitchat a while before coming to the question, “If you die today, do you know for sure you would go to Heaven?” Almost always, they answer with a vague or unsure answer which is exactly the byproduct of a church with love being most important.

2 Peter 1:9  “But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see far off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”

When foundations are out of order, no assurance of salvation or eternal security is found. Often, we see this scenario as we go into the community to win souls. These people are often very open to receiving Christ and placing their faith in Him, but if they remain in a church that makes love more important than faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, and godliness, they will still have no assurance of salvation.

When God put things in order, we should not change that order. There are ramifications for our actions. If we hope to enjoy the stability and security that God wishes for us to have, we must follow the directions and do things in the proper order.

Pastor