The Christian Code of Conduct

Click here to listen to the audio message of – John 15:12-17

This of course is the Memorial Day weekend. In many areas there will be parades and celebrations tomorrow to memorialized soldiers who gave their life for our country. The day has also been termed the official kick-off of summer. And of course once Memorial Day is here the kids know they only have a few more days of school.

Many men and women and even children have sacrificed their lives to fight for or preserve our freedoms here in the United States and other places around the world. People serving in the Armed Forces follow a particular code of conduct.

The first article of the code states: I am an American, fighting in the armed forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.

Article II: I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.

Article III: If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.

Article IV: If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information nor take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way.

Article V: When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.

Article VI: I will never forget that I am an American, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.

We too as Christians follow a code similar to that. We are Christians fighting the good fight. Fighting the war on truth. We should be prepared to give our lives for the fight.

We will surrender our will to that of God’s will. If we are captured by the lures of the world we will rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to deliver us. If we become a prisoner because of our beliefs we will keep the faith.

When questioned, we will respond with the Gospel message, the Good News of Jesus Christ. We will never forget who we are. We will trust in God. We will love and serve God throughout our lives.

We see in our scripture this morning. Jesus said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.”

The commandment to love each other is not new. From the Old Testament, we are commanded to love God and love our neighbors and I have said before that your neighbor is anyone that you come into contact with.

The difference with the type of love that Jesus is talking about is the fact that it is a sacrificial love that is modeled after His own love. And it is produced through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in each of us.

Love is key to a Christian. I am not talking about an emotional or sentimental love. I am talking about the self-sacrificing love. The type of love that Jesus has for us, the love that took Him to the cross. That is the type of love that each of us as believers and followers of Jesus Christ should display throughout our lives.

If we don’t display that type of love in our life, then do we really love God? As I said, Jesus was filled with this type of love and is the perfect example of all things for us.

The two main characteristics of this type of love is obedience to God and laying down our lives. If we really are setting our minds and our hearts to follow Christ then we must show those two characteristics in our life.

First, we must obey God. We must do what He tells us. Now this doesn’t mean we will always perfectly obey Him. We are sinful people living in a dark world and we will fail at times. But the pattern of our life will be in obedience to Him.

One of His commands, of course, is to love each other. It is indeed a sad thing to see believers attacking each other, tearing each other down, talking about each other, arguing over trivial things.

One of the unique characteristics of the United Methodist Church is its focus on worshipping with other Christians. As I have said before, we have an open communion table. Anyone who is a believer is welcome in any United Methodist Church to come and worship, fellowship, and partake in the body and blood of Christ. Many other churches are not like this.

Secondly, we are to lay our lives down for others. Most of us would probably say that we would and quite honestly if the situation arose the Holy Spirit would give us the strength to lay our lives down for others.

For the most part we are pretty safe here in the United States, especially from religious persecution and especially out here in the country where we live. Most people just leave us alone because they think we are crazy for living in the middle of nowhere.

So for us, Jesus is not really calling us to die as He died, although we should be prepared to die if needed. Jesus is really calling us to live as He lived. We should lay down our lives for others. When we see people in need, we are to help, even if and especially if it is a sacrifice for us.

These types of things could be helping people financially, food, clothing, shelter, or simply visiting them. Doing these type of things is much more difficult that dieing for someone. This type of love comes at a price. But they also have their own rewards.

In particular, Jesus promises three things for those who obey His commandment to love.

First, He promises us that we will be filled with joy. In John 15, Christ is almost at the cross, yet He is filled with joy. He has a deep sense of satisfaction and peace. He knows He is obeying the Father’s will and will soon be seated at His right hand side. The reward is worth the cost.

Second, Jesus now says that He is our friend, not just our Master. He has experienced life as we experience it, only He didn’t fall short of perfection. He knows and shares in our feelings. That is true friendship. When we obey His commands, we too enter His circle of friends. We have fellowship with Him that is deep, rich, and meaningful. The reward is worth the cost.

Finally, Jesus answers our prayers. Our prayers activate the power of God. That is amazing! We have influence with the Creator of the universe! That reward is certainly worth the cost.

We must remember, however, that none of this is us. It is all God’s graciousness too us. He calls us. He sustains us. He empowers us to bear fruit. All of our goodness is simply a testimony to God’s grace and love for us.

Now you be a testimony for the world, by loving each other sacrificially as Jesus loves you.

Closing Prayer

Lord, we thank you for our time in your word this morning. We thank you for the many men and women who have served our country and gave their lives for our freedoms. Help us to be as committed to living out your word as they were committed to this country.

We continue to ask your blessings upon this nation and help us to truly be one nation under your care and guidance until you return again for us.

AMEN.