“Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.” In this chapter Paul gives us two specific illustrations of people who are weak in the faith. He could have added characteristics of a hundred more, but these were raised, probably, because there were specific problems in the church in regard to them. To find someone who is weak in the faith is sad enough in itself, but what was more important in this case was that there was quarreling between those people and others who considered themselves to be “strong in the faith.” Some people refused to eat certain foods, probably arguing several reasons, including a few scriptures. Their opponents replied that God has approved all foods, and that anything can be eaten if it is done with thanksgiving and faith. Later Paul says that even meats which had been slaughtered in the name of idol gods were not actually tainted by those gods. Then there were additional cliques fighting over their favorite holy days. The Jews probably wanted to the church to continue to honor the Passover, Yom Kippur & other days, while some of the former heathen may have wanted to continue some of their special days – like perhaps New Years Day and the two solstices. But standing in opposition to both there were the more “spiritual” brethren, “stronger brethren,” who wanted only to recognize the Lord’s Day each week. Of course part of the debate was about who was the weak brother and who was the strong. But that wasn’t as important as Paul’s exhortation to the entire church – “Let every man be persuaded in his own mind. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way. Let no then your good be evil spoken of. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.”
The entire chapter deals with this subject of peacefulness and respect, thinking specifically about these two items. But it could be said that there is an initial summary at the end of verse 6. “He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.” This morning I’d like us to think about this reference to “thanksgiving” and “regarding things unto God.”
It is true that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights.” When the farmer has a great crop, it is not a gift from Mother Nature, and it isn’t entirely from his own hard work – it is a gift of God. When the child is healed after the car wreck, the parents might thank the doctors and nurses, but the Christian will also thank the Great Physician whose will it was that the child was healed. And when that elderly man recovers from his pneumonia, it is because of the Lord’s grace, and it’s to the Lord that the praise should primarily be given.
But how many people in this world truly understand the Divine source of the good things that they possess? Doesn’t proper thanksgiving and praise, require some recognition of the Creator? But how many people in this world have a pure and simple faith in Christ Jesus the Creator? And doesn’t proper thanks also require some degree of awareness that the Saviour is the Sustainer of all? Colossians 1 – “Giving thanks unto the Father… (and to his dear Son)… For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible… And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” I will not flatly say that it is impossible for a mere professing Christian to properly praise God, but without a true faith in the Lord Jesus, I’m not sure that his thanksgiving will ever be perfectly perfect.
And then when someone is enriched through sin, there should not be any praise offered to the Lord at all. God has not made that man rich through his sin, even though the Lord could have stopped the process. When that sinner feels it necessary to give thanks to someone, it isn’t to the Lord that he should give credit. I don’t believe that Jehovah is interested in hearing the thanksgiving of the wicked and the rebellious.
Flipping that around, why aren’t Christian people as openly thankful as they should be? Some are not very thankful, because they are selfish. And selfishness should not a part of Christian character – it is an aspect of the flesh. The unthankful soul needs to seriously consider whether or not he is a child of God. Some people are not thankful, because they are peevish and unsatisfied by nature. Again, this is not supposed to be a part of the Christian character. The greedy soul is a sinful soul. Christian, “let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” And if Hebrews 13:5 is a part of our soul, then we will also, quite naturally, be thankful people. I think it is safe to say that most unthankful people are inadvertently unthankful – they are not thinking. This is not supposed to be a part of our lives – but it often is. If Christians would just think about how dependent we are upon the Lord for everything, then we would be far more thankful individuals.
The point is: the children of God should be thankful people.
Now watch and listen to the Lord Jesus: Matthew 15 – “Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left 7 baskets full.”
Look at the Apostle Paul after he and the others were wrecked on the Island of Melita: “Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you. And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.”
It is a part of the Law of Moses – Deuteronomy 8:10 – “When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.”
Asking a blessing, and offering a blessing to God before eating a meal is a common habit of many of us. But it could actually be something even more common. Perhaps we should thank the Lord for our bed and pillows every night, just as we thank God for each meal. And when we leave our house, or enter into it, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if we thanked God for a home, or apartment or castle from which to withdraw to from the world. When was the last time that your car broke down? Do you remember how upset you were at the time? Were you equally as happy this morning when your car ran perfectly well enough to get you to the house of the Lord? There are 10,000 things or more for which we should express our joy and rejoicing to the Lord. This should be a part of the Christian way of life: I Thessalonians 5:18 – “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Christians are expected to be thankful people because they realize that the Creator – their Saviour – is the source of every good thing that they possess.
And that is before we come to the more eternal and spiritual things. I could be wrong, but I’m not convinced that Old Testament saints were indwelt by the Holy Spirit as we are today. We have a ministry of the Lord in us which is personal, powerful and permanent, but how often do we express our thanks to God for the Spirit? When we feel His conviction, His direction and even His grief at our sin, we should be filled with thanks. What a blessing this is. And of course, we should be full of praise and thanksgiving for salvation by grace. I feel almost foolish for even mentioning this, because it is so obviously true. But the fact is that we all are woefully remiss in expressing our gratitude for saving grace and mercy. Even though we say that we believe in sovereign grace, our thanklessness suggests otherwise. I quoted bits and pieces of Colossians 1 a minute ago; now let me give you a running quote: Christian, you should constantly be “giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”
Then there is the Bible. It was given by special inspiration to men of God who sometimes suffered for their part in that reception. Then it has been preserved – quite often through the suffering and death of even more Christians. That is not to say that we have it today directly because of those people; we have the Word of God because Jehovah preserved it for us – thank you Lord. And then there were those people who taught it to us, so that we might understand a little of it. There have been few good gifts from God which are more important to our souls than the scriptures. What a shame that so many professing Christians have so little genuine respect and love for the Bible.
And what about our church? If you talk to any Christian who truly loves the Lord and loves the Word of God but who does not have a church in his home town, he will tell you how blessed we are. I was speaking with one of those people last Thursday. Most of us do not appreciate what a divine kindness it is to have a Bible-preaching church to attend. We need to be uplifted in the promises of the Lord and cast under the bus of the Lord’s conviction, and that is more likely to occur in the House of God than at your house with all its distractions. I know that it would become superstitious and ridiculous, but I could just see us with a bronze plaque or symbol of some kind near the church front door, with each member as he came in touching a finger to that plague in thanksgiving to the Lord for our church. Such a symbol would be kept polished to the highest degree by the joyful fingers of the saints. “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” “By him therefore (by Christ Jesus) let us offer the sacrifice of our praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name” – Hebrews 13:15.
This thanksgiving should be expressed with a voice which can be heard by friend and foe alike. Let the people in that restaurant know that you are one of those religious fanatics. The waterfall has a voice, the purring kitten has a voice, that cackling hen is delighted in the Lord’s provision, and we should be delighted as well, expressing it in whatever way that we can. But in addition to the lips our whole body should express our thanksgiving to the Lord. “Hath the LORD as great delight in empty words of thanks, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and thanksgiving, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” Has the Lord given you a decent job and enough income to feed your family? Then thank him with your tithes. Has He made you wealthy and comfortable; then thank Him with your offerings. Has He given you linen, wool and badger’s skins; then thank Him by strengthening the Tabernacle. Has He given you good health and strength; then thank Him by laying some of the stones to the Temple or to the walls around the city.
God has blessed the Christian – body, soul and spirit – and our thanksgiving should be triune as well.
Why should we be thankful? Because it brings glory to the Lord. Christians are supposed to be in the God-glorifying business. This can be done most efficiently through praise and thanksgiving. Just about everything else that we do in the service of the Lord involves some degree of corrupting flesh. Praise and thanksgiving is almost pure glory.
Why should we be thankful? Because it is the command of God. “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
But as I have suggested already, the only person who can be truly and completely thankful is that person who is a child of the King. Let’s say that someone is smart enough to invent a really important item. He meets someone who is able to market that thing, and it makes them both fabulously wealthy. Both men and their families live well into their 90s and enjoy every luxury known to man. And let’s also say that these people are smart enough to recognize the hand of God in their blessings. Yet, neither man has been converted to Christ. Despite spending a few minutes every 4th Thursday of November expressing thanks, what will it mean when they die? Thanksgiving is not the same thing as repentance and faith. A good thing is not necessarily the appropriate thing in every situation. Praise is not a replacement for repentance.
Even though I would like us all to be more thankful, if I had to choose between hearing your praise, and hearing of your utter rejection of self, and an heart-felt expression of trust in the Lord, it is the second thing that I would prefer. Your salvation from sin, which is something totally of God, is more glorifying to the Lord than your voice. But following that, the Lord delights in hearing our praise and thanksgiving.
This morning, I’d like to hear both. Would you step forward during the invitation and tell me of your recent salvation? Would you then express before us all your great praise and thanks to God for saving you?