Church of Nigeria (Anglican
Communion)
Diocese of
Abuja
Cathedral Church of
the Advent
15 January 2017
Today's Sermon - Epiphany
2
Theme: "The Christian Work Ethic"
Topic: The Dignity of Labour and the Burden of
Family
Key Text: 1 Timothy 5: 8
Summary:
Christians have dual
citizenship as long as they live on earth, and to these two they must prove
responsible
First is their heavenly
citizenship for which they must live here and now as strangers; secondly is the
earthly citizenship to which they must be responsible members of the society,
otherwise the Name of Christ will be maligned. One way to achieve this is
through work.
Christians by the teaching
of the Word of God's Plan are to find dignity in labour.
From the early times, work
has been part of God's Plan for man, even before the fall (Gen. 2: 15)
We should therefore not
resist working, for by it God will bless and prosper us. It is in our that the
promises of God will be fulfilled (Ps. 1: 1 - 3)
We live in a time some
Christians and Preachers believe in prosperity without work - they only claim
it by faith.
An example of this is
MIRACLE MONEY in which unearned monies are supernaturally credited to a
person's bank account supposedly by angels. The teaching of the Word of God
about faith and work condemns such teachings (James 2: 20, 26). The same can be
said of get-rich-quick/ponzi/pyramid schemes e.g. MMM
When the Apostle Paul
encountered some idle Christians in Thessalonica, he rebuked them sharply (2
Thess. 3: 7 - 12)
His conclusion was that
"he that will not work should also not eat"
For Christians with
families, if they do not work, they would fail in their family
responsibilities. Paul also judged them as having denied the faith and worse
than unbelievers (1 Tim. 5: 8)
The Christian faith does
not encourage begging (Acts. 20: 35) rather each one is called to work hard so
as to be able to give to God's cause on earth.
Some Points to note
1. There is dignity in labour. Christians should embrace just
works as responsible citizens
2. No Christian should be idle or be lazy for God cannot bless or
prosper nothing. It is ungodly to pray earnestly for prosperity, divine favour
e.t.c. without working
3. An idle Christian is a disgrace to the faith. God the Father
and Jesus are working and so should Christians (John 5: 17)
4. Parents must be good examples of working Christians to their
Children and not abandon their responsibility of providing for their families
5. Be willing to help but avoid "oversize responsibility"
in your dealing with the extended family
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