First Baptist Church Litchfield
February 8, 2026

      • Psalm 47:7–9ESV

  • All Creatures Of Our God And King
  • Build Your Kingdom Here

      • Psalm 99:1ESV

      • Revelation 19:16ESV

  • Let Your Kingdom Come
  • All I Have Is Christ
  • Judge Of The Secrets
  • “The Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged… The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of his brother.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer — Life Together
    Bonhoeffer’s words undercut the modern churches obsession with individualistic consumer fellowship. In such a few words, in a well lived life, and a martyrs death, Bonhoeffer explains why unconditional life-sharing is necessary for the church in our fallen world. We need Christ’s words in our brothers and sisters to speak a word of endurance and faithfulness to our own hearts when we feel like giving up.
    In the first sermon, we began with a picture of the church from the same setting Bonhoeffer was a pastor, Nazi Germany. We began with the underground seminary at Finkenwalde. As the Nazi grip tightened, young pastors, like Bonhoeffer, gathered in costly fellowship, sharing meals, confessing sin, submitting to spiritual authority, and bearing patiently with one another’s weaknesses. They learned that devotion to Christ cannot be separated from devotion to Christ’s body.
    The New Testament knows nothing of a solitary Christian. When Jesus saves us, He does not rescue us to be individual disciples; He places us into a covenant family. To belong to Christ is to belong to His church, and that belonging calls us to an unconditional sharing of life together until glory.
    We began working through six gospel-centered commitments that make this shared life visible. In part one, we focused especially on love, honor, and peace as the fruit of hearts purified by Christ and strengthened by His Spirit. This morning we will finish up with looking at, submit to one another, bear with one another patiently, and be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving.

    4. Submit to One Another (Ephesians 5:21)

    In chapter 5, Paul calls for believers to commit to a shared life of the church. He urges believers to walk in love (Eph. 5:2). Walking, for Paul, is a pattern of life, how redeemed people live together day after day. And at the heart of that loving walk is verse 21: “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
    Love is always practiced. It is displayed through a posture of willing, humble submission to one another for mutual good. “Church loving” submission is not coerced or imposed. The verb Paul uses speaks of voluntary yielding—choosing to place oneself under another in love. Submission like that is not an easy ask for us as sons and daughters of the old Adam.
    In medieval Europe, many cities had narrow stone bridges that could only carry one cart at a time. When two wagons met in the middle, there was no written sign, no traffic signal. One driver had to yield, sometimes backing an entire cart the length of the bridge so the other could pass. When both men insisted on their own right of way, traffic came to a stop. The bridge became the crime scene of Medieval road rage.
    That small picture exposes why Paul’s command in Ephesians 5:21 is so hard for us. Mutual submission always costs something. It costs you time, position, convenience, even dignity. In our fallen condition, we do not instinctively back up; we dig in. We would rather block the bridge than humble ourselves and give way to our neighbor. That is why in this context of this verse, Paul speaks of being filled with the Spirit. We need the power and truth of the Holy Spirit to walk with a submissive heart. Theologian Klyne Snodross rightly says,
    People led by the Spirit “submit to one another”
    Klyne Snodgrass
    Paul anchors our submission to one another in how we fear the Lord. He says, “out of reverence for Christ” submit to one another. The word reverence here carries the sense of awe-filled respect, a childlike fear rooted in love, honor, and deep regard for Christ’s authority (Prov. 1:7; 2 Cor. 5:10). Its the kind of respect that hates the idea of displeasing the One who loved us and gave Himself for us (Gal. 2:20). Because Christ is our Lord and Head (Eph. 1:22), every act of submission becomes an act of worship. This is important because he does not ground submission in how you feel or what you know about your brothers and sisters. We do not submit because others are always right, deserving, or easy to love. We submit because Christ is worthy. Our submission is grounded in Him, not in the character or spiritual maturity of the person we are yielding to. Out of love and reverence for Jesus, we gladly place ourselves under our brothers and sisters for their spiritual good.

    Why is Jesus so worthy of our submission?

    Our Lord perfectly embodied this kind of yielding. Jesus came not to do His own will, but the will of the Father who sent Him (John 6:38). He humbled Himself, taking the form of a servant, and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross (Phil. 2:5–8). And now we who are united to Him by His Holy Spirit are called to reflect that same Christlike posture toward one another.
    In some ways, our shared life as a church is like an orchestra. Each musician is skilled with their instrument and reading their music, but no one plays their own tune. They listen carefully, adjust their volume, follow the conductor, and at times yield prominence so the piece can be played rightly. If one musician insists on dominating, the music suffers. But when each submits to the direction of the conductor and the good of the group, harmony, unity, beauty emerges.
    In the same way, Christ is the Head of the church, and when believers willingly submit to one another out of reverence for Him, the beauty of the gospel is enjoyed, like a well written elegant piece of music.
    In 2026, I want to learn to submit well to my brothers and sisters. I want our church to be unusually marked by a yielding spirit. If we are going to develop a yielding spirit, then all of us need to remember to whom we belong. Submission flows from your union with Christ, not from your personality or preferences (Eph. 4:15–16). We will need to choose humility over and over again and again.
    We will have to work to look for tangible ways to serve, defer, and lift up others rather than insisting on our own way (Rom. 12:10; Phil. 2:3–4). We have to be willing to examine our motivations. Let’s not ask, “Do they deserve this?” but, “How can I honor Christ through this?” (Col. 3:17). Let’s trust the Spirit’s work in our own life and the fruit of our obedience to Him. When a church lives in Christ-centered submission, love deepens, unity strengthens, and God’s wisdom is displayed to a watching world (Eph. 3:10).
    In our society, submission sounds weak. It is weak if its only regard is for the person you submit too. But if FBCL will learn to yield to one another in Christ-honoring Spirit-empowered submission, the world will marvel at our resiliency and love for each other, and be compelled to look upon the Christ we so dearly love to submit.
    Just as submission is to be done in love with honor, and for the sake of peace, it also needs a patient spirit willing to to put up with each others nonsense.

    5. Be patient, bearing with one another in love (Ephesians 4:2)

    Paul urges the Ephesian church to walk “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:2). To bear with one another is to willingly put up with one another’s failings as God patiently puts up with ours. Paul does not leave that command undefined. He tells us how to do it—with humility, gentleness, and patience. Once again, this is not natural for us. By nature we are impatient people. Patience is the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23). The fruit of the Spirit is worked out in your sanctification, which is what Paul grounds this exhortation.
    Every believer lives in the tension of the already and the not yet of holiness. God has declared us holy in Christ (1 Cor. 1:2), and at the same time He is steadily making us holy (Phil. 1:6). We are being conformed into the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29), and that process necessarily exposes sin.
    Furthermore, when sinners live closely together, friction is inevitable. Scripture itself acknowledges this: “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Prov. 27:17). And when iron strikes iron, sparks fly. Words are misspoken. Motives are misunderstood. Sin is revealed, and sometimes others are hurt by it. Yet Paul reminds us that God is using the very people around us, flawed as they are (and flawed as you are) to shape sinners into Christlikeness. So, Paul says we need to learn to put up with each other’s failings. Be patient, slow to anger, slow to speak (James 1:19-20). Let love cover a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8).
    Don’t hear me say that we can excuse sin or compromise God’s truth. There are times when error must be corrected and sin must be addressed. Jesus Himself gave the church the gift of discipline to protect the purity of the church and to restore the wandering brother or sister (Matt. 18:15–17; Gal. 6:1). But even correction is to be clothed in patient love. The default posture of the Christian life is long-suffering patience; a refusal to give up on one another. Paul says elsewhere, “Love is patient and kind” (1 Cor. 13:4), and “as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Col. 3:13). Bearing with one another is how gospel grace becomes visible in everyday relationships.
    In the ancient world, stones used to build temples were not shaped at the construction site. They were quarried elsewhere, cut, chipped, and shaped long before they were ever placed into the structure. When the stones finally arrived at the temple, they fit together perfectly. They fit perfectly because they had already endured the hammer and chisel.
    Scripture tells us that God is doing something similar with His people. Peter says we are being built together as “living stones” into a spiritual house (1 Pet. 2:5). But living stones rub against one another. When God places us together in the church, the friction is meant to be formative. Pride is exposed. Impatience is revealed. Sharp edges meet other sharp edges. And if we resist the process, the building does not grow as it should.
    Bearing with one another in love is how God shapes us for His temple. The pressure, the misunderstandings, the awkward conversations, and even the disappointments are not signs that something has gone entirely wrong. They are signs that conflict is an opportunity for the gospel; that God is at work. Without that close proximity, without that long-suffering patience, we would remain spiritually unfit for the house God is building.
    So when Paul calls us to put up with once another’s failings, he is calling us to trust the Master Builder. God knows exactly where He has placed you, and He knows exactly which edges still need shaping—both in you and in those walk beside you.
    So far, to live together in fellowship in 2026, we need to love one another earnestly and honor each as we honor Christ. We must live at peace and willfully submit to each other making sure we strive to be patient with each others failings. As we close, Paul encourages us to soak all of these commitments in Spirit empowered Christ-honoring kindness.

    6. Be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32)

    Paul concludes this section with the words, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:32). In this text, Paul gathers the fruit of the gospel into a single, Spirit-filled sentence. Paul has been calling the church to put off the old self and put on the new (Eph. 4:22–24). Now he shows us what the new life in Christ actually looks like when it walks through the doors of the church and into real relationships; kindness.
    To be kind is to have a sweet, generous disposition toward others. Biblical kindness is not midwestern politeness or southern hospitality; it is goodness that moves toward people for their benefit (Rom. 2:4; Gal. 5:22). It reflects the kindness God has shown to us in Christ, a kindness that met us when we were dead in our sin (Eph. 2:4–7).
    To be tenderhearted is to possess a heart that feels deeply for others, a heart that sympathizes, refusing to harden towards your neighbor. It is the opposite of being calloused. Paul is describing a Christlike compassion that intentionally enters into the burdens, sorrows, and struggles of the family of God (Rom. 12:15; Col. 3:12), as Christ himself did in the incarnation. It is a kind heart does not stand at a distance seeing the pain of their brother; it draws near, even bearing the pain for the sake of your brother or sister (1 John 3:17).
    In the fourth century a devastating famine and plague his Caesarea in the year 368-369 AD. Most citizens fled the city. Very few wanted to embrace the sick and dying. Those with the plague were feared and abandoned. But the Christians did the opposite. Saint Basil the Great, a Catholic bishop, organized believers to move toward the suffering. They fed the hungry, nursed the diseased, buried the dead, and even built the Basiliad outside the gates of Caesarea, which served as a poorhouse, hospital, and hospice.
    Basil’s Christian kindness lead the church to be a living picture of Paul’s words. Kindness is love that moves toward another for their good. Tenderheartedness is unwilling to harden when love becomes costly. In other words, when the gospel took root in those early Christians, it did not remain pie in the sky theology. It walked into the streets, touched diseased bodies, bore unbearable grief, and displayed the very heart of Christ: kind, tender, and forgiving.
    Forgiveness is the center of Paul’s command. He says, “forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Forgiveness is the crown jewel of Christian kindness. It is the deliberate choice to release a debt. It chooses to let go of the right to retaliate, rehearse the wrong over and over, or hold wrongdoing over another (Matt. 18:21–35). And Paul grounds this forgiveness in Christ’s finished work. God did not forgive us reluctantly or partially. In Christ, He forgave us fully, freely, and decisively; sins past, present, and future (Ps. 103:12; Col. 2:13–14). These were not small offenses; they were hell-deserving sins against a holy God. And yet, Jesus eagerly bore them in His body on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24). That gospel reality now becomes the pattern for how we forgive one another.
    Forgiveness is not easy or cheap. It often costs us deeply. But it is never optional for the Christian. A church that withholds forgiveness contradicts the very gospel it proclaims. Jesus Himself warns us that unforgiving hearts reveal a failure to grasp the magnitude of God’s mercy toward us (Matt. 6:14–15).

    “When we forgive, we are not minimizing sin; we are magnifying grace. We are saying that Christ’s mercy is greater than the offense committed against us.”

    In 2026, we need to cultivate kindness by looking for practical ways to reflect God’s goodness through our words, tone, and actions (Prov. 19:22). We must guard a tender heart. Resist bitterness and emotional callousness by regularly remembering how patiently God has dealt with you (Lam. 3:31–33). Forgive quickly and fully. Do not keep score. Release offenses to the Lord, trusting Him with justice and healing (Rom. 12:19). Return often to the cross. The more clearly you see what Christ has forgiven in you, the more freely you will forgive others (Luke 7:47).
    As we close, let us return where we began, to that small, hidden seminary at Finkenwalde in 1930s Germany. Those young pastors did not gather because it was convenient, safe, or comfortable. They gathered because they believed something our age has largely forgotten: you cannot belong to Christ without belonging to His body. In a time when loyalty to Jesus could cost everything, they bound their lives together in love, honor, peace, submission, patience, and forgiveness. And when the darkness closed in, it was not private devotion alone that sustained them, but costly fellowship in Christ.
    Beloved, the New Testament vision of the church has always been this demanding but beautiful commitment to His Bride. Christ has not called us to a loose association of spiritual consumers, but to a covenant family shaped by His cross. What we have seen are not six optional virtues for especially mature Christians. They are six Spirit-empowered commitments that flow from the gospel itself.

    Because Christ loved us earnestly, we now love one another earnestly. Because Christ honored us when we were undeserving, we outdo one another in showing honor. Because Christ made peace by the blood of His cross, we pursue peace with one another and the world. Because Christ submitted Himself to the Father for our salvation, we submit to one another out of reverence for Him. Because Christ has been patient with our slow sanctification, we bear with one another in love. Because Christ forgave us fully and finally, we are kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving.

    At the center of all six commitments stands the same gospel truth: Jesus Christ gave Himself for His church. The same grace that saved us is the grace that sustains our life together.
    So the question before us is not whether these commitments are biblical. The question is whether we will embrace them here, now, together, in 2026.

    Will we move toward one another instead of retreating?

    Will we stay when relationships become costly?

    Will we forgive when we would rather rehearse wrongs?

    Will we submit when pride tells us to stand our ground?

    Will we patiently bear with brothers and sisters who are still being shaped, just like we are?

    Church, this is our calling. These are your people. This is your family. God has placed you here, not accidentally, not temporarily, but providentially. And He calls us to say, by His grace: “These are my people, and I will unconditionally share my life with them until glory.”
    If we live this way, the watching world will see something it cannot explain. In an age of isolation, division, and disposable relationships, they will see a people bound together by a love stronger than preference, deeper than agreement, and that endures beautifully in suffering. They will see the life of Christ made visible in His body.
    May God, who is faithful, do this work among us. And may our life together now be a foretaste of the eternal fellowship we will share with Christ and one another forever.
  • Empowered by the Spirit, Guided by the Word
First Baptist Church Litchfield
pastorjason.fbcl@gmail.com
217-324-4232
http://www.firstbaptistlitchfield.org/
38 members • 6 followers