Service

	"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them," Jesus tells His followers in Matthew 20:25-28, "and {their} great men exercise authority over them.  It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
	Our word for this week is "service."
	As is often the case, there are various words which might be translated as "serve," "servant" or "service" in our English New Testaments.
	"Begone," Jesus commands  Satan in Matthew 4:10, "for it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'" 
	In this verse, "serve" means to fulfill religious duty.
	"For David," Acts 13:36 notes, "after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers, and underwent decay."
	Here the word "service" means just what it says: to serve a purpose.  The word literally means one who rows a boat as an underling.
	"If anyone serves Me," Jesus offers in John 12:26, "let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant also be; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him."
	This refers to one who ministers to or waits on.
	"No one can serve two masters;" the Lord instructs in Matthew 6:24, "for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
	This word implies service which might be rendered by a slave.  Although all four meanings are incorporated in the idea of christian service, the verses we will be focusing on involve the last two.  These carry the connotation of "service" as we use it most commonly.
	Before we take a look at christian service, we should mention some things that we are not to serve.
	"For if we have become united with {Him} in the likeness of His death," we read in Romans 6:5-6, "certainly we shall be also {in the likeness} of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with {Him,} that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin."
	A Christian cannot serve sin.  Paul repeats this instruction in verses 17 and 19.
	"For we also once were foolish ourselves," Paul writes in Titus 3:3, "disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another." 
	A Christian cannot serve the various lusts and pleasures which are so glamorized in our society today.
	We must make a choice.  We cannot serve the things we have just mentioned and also pretend to offer the service that we will be discussing.
	"No one can serve two masters," Jesus notes in Matthew 6:24, "for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." 
	A Christian cannot serve sin.  A Christian cannot serve the lusts and pleasures of the world.

	A Christian cannot serve sin.  A Christian cannot serve the lusts and pleasures of the world.  But what do we know about the service that a Christian should offer?  What are the attributes of a christian servant?
	"You yourselves know," Paul tells the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:18-19, "from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews."
	A Christian serves with humility.
	"But now we have been released from the Law," Paul instructs in Romans 7:6, "having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter."
	A Christian serves with newness of Spirit.
	"For you were called to freedom, brethren," Paul writes in Galatians 5:13, "only {do} not {turn} your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."
	A Christian serves with love.  Paul provides a good picture of this love in the twelfth chapter of his letter to the Romans.
	"Let love be without hypocrisy," he urges in verses 9-13. "Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality."
	In this passage, loving service is described as being devoted to one another and giving preference to one another.  As the apostle notes, part of this service involves hospitality.
	"Be hospitable to one another without complaint," 1 Peter 4:9-10 urges.  "As each one has received a {special} gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." 
	A Christian serves with humility, newness of Spirit and love. Christian service includes hospitality which is offered joyfully without complaint.
	These are some of the attributes of a christian servant.  What can we learn about the characteristics of this service?
	"Who are you to judge the servant of another?" Paul asks in Romans 14:4.  "To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand."
	"For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God?" Paul wonders in Galatians 1:10.  "Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ."
	A servant is expected to please his or her own master.
	"Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone {as} slaves for obedience," Paul reminds us in Romans 6:16, "you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?"
	A servant obeys. 
	"For I, too, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me," a Roman officer says to Jesus in Matthew 8:9, "and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does {it}."
	Not only does a servant obey, a servant obeys without questioning.
	"For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a certain king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves," Jesus states in Matthew 18:23. 
	A servant is held accountable.  Jesus makes a clear application of this in Matthew chapter 25.
	"For {it is} just like a man {about} to go on a journey," Jesus teaches in Matthew 25:14-15, "who called his own slaves, and entrusted his possessions to them.  And to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey."
	We all know the story.  After a long time the master returns and demands an accounting from the servants.  Some have been faithful in their responsibilities, but one has been negligent.
	"You wicked, lazy slave," the master exclaims in verse 26.
	"And cast out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth," the master commands in verse 30.
	Jesus goes on in the rest of the chapter to draw a parallel between what happens to the servants and what will happen to all people on the day of judgment.  Faithful service seems to play an important role.  This passage is well worth an examination by anyone who is concerned about facing God at Judgment.
	A Christian cannot serve sin.  A Christian cannot serve the lusts and pleasures of the world.  A Christian serves with humility, newness of Spirit and love. Christian service includes hospitality which is offered joyfully without complaint.  A servant pleases his or her own master.  A servant obeys, obeys without question.  A servant is held accountable.
	The world does not always look highly on service.  The push in our society is to be on top and have others serve us from below.  What should the Christian's attitude be about service?
	"And they came to Capernaum;" Matthew 9:33-37 records, "and when He was in the house, He {began} to question them, 'What were you discussing on the way?'  But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which {of them was} the greatest.  And sitting down, He called the twelve and *said to them, 'If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all.'  And taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them,  'Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.'"
	The Christian sees service, not being on top, as the highest calling possible.
	"It is not so among you," Jesus instructs in Matthew 20:26-28, "but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." 
	Why does the Christian see service as the highest calling?  It is because of the example set by Jesus Himself.
	And what kind of future awaits the one who chooses a life of service?
	"If anyone serves Me," Jesus offers in John 12:26, "let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant also be; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him."
	"Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything," Paul explains in Galatians 4:1-7, "but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.  So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.  But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.  And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!'  Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God."
	Those who refuse to serve will suffer eternally.  Those who choose to serve will be set free.  Let's know and serve the truth so that we, too, may be set free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 Used by permission."