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Seek to Do Good to One Another

Summary of my sermon, based on 1 Thessalonians 5:12-19. Preached at Greenhills Christian Fellowship Toronto on Sunday, 5 July 2026.

The Call to Excel Still More (1 Thessalonians 4:1-2)

To understand the full context of Paul’s instructions, we have to look back at 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2:

“Finally then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that as you receive from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The version of this verse that I memorized says that you excel still more. This is an excellent reminder for us. There are congregations that genuinely strive to honor God—and I believe GCF is one of them—but the very nature of excellence is that there is always more excellence to be had. Even when you are already doing the good things God expects, the exhortation is to keep doing it more and more. Paul’s primary goal here is teaching us what it means to walk in a way that is pleasing to God.

Dynamic of Leadership and Peace (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13)

Looking at the opening of our primary section, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15 outlines our conduct toward one another in community, while the subsequent verses cover our conduct toward God. If we accomplish what we ought to among each other, we will effectively accomplish our conduct towards God as well. Let’s look at verses 12-13:

“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.”

It is interesting how this verse closes by telling the Thessalonians to be at peace among themselves. At first glance, it doesn’t seem directly related to the first part of the verse, which focuses on respecting leadership. However, they work together tightly. When leadership is not respected, chaos is exactly what happens—in the church and everywhere else in this world.

There are times when leadership must be opposed and rebellion against oppressive leadership is necessary. A great example of this is what our neighbors to the south just celebrated yesterday: the 4th of July, or Independence Day. This is the day Americans celebrate their independence from the British.

On July 4, 1776—250 years ago—they weren’t celebrating with fireworks the way people do today. The first Independence Day happened right in the middle of the American War of Revolution. That war started a bit earlier, in April 1775, and lasted until September 3, 1783. For eight years, the Americans were at war with the British. When they rebelled against the oppressive leadership of King George III, chaos immediately ensued. This isn’t a value judgment on who was right or wrong; as Canadians, our founders chose a different path of not seceding from Britain. The point is simply that when rebellion against leadership occurs, chaos almost always erupts immediately after.

Peaceful rebellions are rare outliers in history. As Filipinos, we are familiar with a famous example: the People Power Revolution, where Filipinos broke free from the oppressive dictatorship of Marcos through largely peaceful protests. But even in a situation without wide-scale violence, you couldn’t exactly call the situation in the Philippines during the late ’80s and early ’90s completely peaceful. I was just a small child, but I distinctly remember being home from school and seeing military jets flying directly above our house during one of the coup attempts against President Cory Aquino. Even in an outlier situation, peace is easily shattered when leadership order breaks down.

Our Shared Duty of Care (1 Thessalonians 5:14)

In the church context, leadership is specifically associated with elders and pastoral offices. However, Paul writes: “who labor among you and are over you,” without specifying exact titles. This suggests that each of us has a role to play in looking out for one another.

Paul turns his attention to the weakest within the congregation who need direction, instructing the whole group to participate:

  • Admonish the idle: Call out those who are not contributing or doing what they are supposed to do.
  • Encourage the faint-hearted: Lift up those who are overwhelmed and need encouragement.
  • Help the weak: Physically and spiritually support those who are struggling.
  • Be patient with them all: Exercise widespread patience across the entire community.

We all share a collective duty of care to step up and lead one another in the Lord when these needs arise.

The Active Command vs. Cheap Knockoffs (1 Thessalonians 5:15)

This brings us directly to verse 15:

“See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.”

This command has two sides: the negative restriction (repay no one evil for evil) and the positive mandate (always seek to do good). Seeing both sides is critical because our sinful flesh can easily become lazy. Avoiding retaliation is a basic level of morality. Jesus commanded this in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:38-39) when he challenged the old standard of “an eye for an eye” and said, “Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

To understand the active depth of “doing good,” we can compare it to a much more famous text—the Golden Rule found in Matthew 7:12:

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

This concept of reciprocity is present in almost every world religion and philosophy, but there is a fundamental difference when you read their versions:

  • Judaism: “That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow. This is the whole Torah.”
  • Hinduism: “One should not behave towards others in a way which is disagreeable to oneself.”
  • Buddhism: “Hurt not others with that which pains yourself.”
  • Islam: “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother that which he loves for himself.”

While these look similar on the surface, the crucial difference is that the other versions are stated passively. They tell you to sit back and prevent yourself from doing bad things to others.

The Christian Golden Rule stands apart because it is an aggressively active command: Do unto others. You are commanded to actively go out and work for the concrete betterment of others. The passive frameworks are just cheap knockoffs—like buying fake designer bags from Divisoria. True Christian community requires active sacrifice.

Fully Relying on Christ’s Work

Scripture expands on this active standard in other places. Philippians 2:3-4 tells us to do nothing from selfish ambition, but in humility count others as more significant than ourselves, looking directly out for their interests. Romans 15:2-3 instructs us to please our neighbors for their good and build them up, drawing a direct parallel to Jesus: “For Christ did not please himself.” Christ didn’t please himself; he went to a brutal cross to absorb our reproaches.

When you pair this with Jesus’ statement in Matthew 5:48—”You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect”—the real point of the command is to show you that you are completely incapable of accomplishing it on your own.

Left to our own sinful natures, we are simply too selfish. I’m too selfish to even avoid repaying evil for evil sometimes; it’s why I have a couple of points on my driver’s license from how I handle traffic. Avoiding retaliation is just the baseline. Actively seeking the absolute best for others and sacrificing ourselves the way Christ did is impossible in our own strength.

We can only accomplish this through the reality of Philippians 2:13:

“For it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

This is exactly what we celebrate at the communion table. Jesus Christ died to save us from the historical penalty of sin, and at the end of time, he will remove the presence of sin completely. But right now, while the presence of sin is still around us, his sacrifice provides the power for our ongoing sanctification. Every time we take communion, we remember his death not only out of deep gratitude for our salvation, but to allow him to break through our selfishness so he can work in and through us for his good pleasure.

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The Importance of Praise and Thanksgiving

Summary of my sermon, based on Luke 17:11-19. Preached at Greenhills Christian Fellowship Toronto on Sunday, 28 June 2026.

The Importance of Praise and Thanksgiving
As we continue our sermon series on Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, it is important to remember that this path is not merely a physical trek from Galilee to the cross; it is a journey of fate. Jesus is moving toward his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, all while preparing his disciples for the time when he would be physically absent from them.

Along this journey, Jesus passes through the border of Samaria and Galilee. This is significant because Jews at that time generally avoided Samaria, often taking circuitous routes along the Jordan River to bypass the region entirely. The tension was both racial and religious; Samaritans were seen as “half-Jews” who practiced religious syncretism, worshipping Yahweh alongside foreign idols. Even those who maintained a semblance of the Jewish faith were viewed with suspicion due to theological differences, such as their focus on Mount Gerizim and adherence only to the Pentateuch. Yet, Jesus chooses to go directly through this marginalized territory.

Radical Compassion on the Margins
As he enters a village, Jesus is met by ten lepers standing at a distance. Leprosy in the ancient world was a devastating, contagious condition that resulted in permanent social and spiritual isolation. According to the laws in Leviticus 13, those afflicted were required to live outside the camp and cry out, “Unclean, unclean.” Their isolation was absolute; they were quite literally on the margins of society.

The presence of ten lepers in one small village suggests a pandemic-level crisis for that community. Yet, Jesus chooses to enter this very place. This demonstrates his radical compassion for those in need—a compassion that his followers are called to mirror. As 1 John 3:17–18 challenges us: “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

We are called to be involved in the ministry of mercy. While not all are called to be missionaries in the slums of Manila or India, all believers are called to cultivate an intimate understanding of the needs of others. This goes beyond general prayer; it involves actively learning about the needs of specific missionaries and agencies, and personally participating in the work of God’s kingdom.

The Miracle and the Response
When the ten lepers cry out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us,” Jesus notices them and gives an seemingly anticlimactic command: “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” In Leviticus 14, this process was the prescribed way for someone healed of leprosy to be declared clean and restored to society. Jesus was effectively telling them, “You are going to be healed.”

Sure enough, as they went, they were cleansed. Yet, the main point of this passage appears in verses 15–18. Only one, a Samaritan, turned back, praising God with a loud voice and falling at Jesus’ feet to give thanks. Jesus responds, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”

The Problem of Ingratitude
The nine who did not return were not necessarily ungrateful in their hearts, but they failed to express that gratitude. This failure highlights two major issues in the human heart. First, it betrays a tendency to take blessings for granted, often fueled by the modern obsession with comparison and the “greener grass” of social media. We live in a land of unprecedented abundance, yet many remain trapped in a cycle of melancholy and discontent.

Second, the lack of gratitude betrays a misunderstanding of the source of our blessings. It is easy to attribute our provisions to our own labor or circumstances rather than to God. Romans 1:21 provides a sobering perspective on this: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Failing to give thanks is equated with failing to honor God as God.

The Deeper Blessing of Salvation
All ten lepers were physically healed, but to the one who returned, Jesus said, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” While God provides general blessings to all, the deeper blessing of salvation is found only in Christ.

Praise and thanksgiving are matters of faith. We praise God not just for the material provisions of this life, but because we are people saved by grace. As Colossians 3:16–17 instructs, we let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, “singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Everything we do in word or deed should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

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Service, Obedience, and Duty

Summary of my sermon, based on Luke 17:1-10. Preached at Greenhills Christian Fellowship Toronto on Sunday, 14 June 2026.

In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 17, verses 1–10, Jesus delivers a series of teachings that address four core themes: the reality of sin, the necessity of forgiveness, the nature of faith, and the humble duty of the believer. These teachings, though appearing distinct, are bound together by the posture required of those who follow Christ.

The Inevitability and Severity of Sin
Jesus acknowledges the certainty of temptation in a fallen world, noting that temptations to sin are inevitable. However, he issues a grave warning regarding those who become the source of such temptation for others. The “little ones”—a term of endearment for the children of God—must be protected from stumbling. This warning applies to everyone, but it carries a particularly heavy weight for leaders, teachers, and preachers, who are called to adhere strictly to the Word of God to ensure they are not leading others astray.

The Command to Forgive
Because sin is an unavoidable reality, believers are given clear directives for handling it within the body of Christ. The primary response to a brother or sister who sins is to rebuke them—not out of malice, but with the goal of restoration and leading them back to repentance. When repentance is offered, the required response is complete forgiveness, regardless of how often the offense is repeated. This does not mean one should intentionally remain in vulnerable, abusive situations, but rather that the posture of the heart should be one of consistent, unlimited forgiveness.

The Nature of Faith
When faced with these difficult commands, the disciples asked Jesus to “increase our faith.” Jesus’s response highlights that the power of faith does not lie in its volume or magnitude, but in its existence and, most importantly, in the object upon which it is placed: Christ. Even a small amount of faith, when placed in the right person, enables the believer to accomplish the work of God. Ultimately, the greatest work of faith has already been accomplished through salvation from sin.

The Role of a Servant
Jesus concludes this teaching with an analogy regarding a servant’s duty. The point of this parable is not to portray God as a harsh taskmaster, but to define the proper mindset of a believer who has already received the grace of salvation. Just as a servant does not expect special thanks for simply fulfilling their assigned duties, the believer who has been saved by Christ is called to serve in humility, acknowledging that their obedience is a natural response to being redeemed.

Ultimately, the call to serve one another—by protecting each other from sin, rebuking in love, and forgiving freely—mirrors the humility displayed by Christ in his own life and death on the cross.

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The Stubborn Nature of Sin

Summary of my sermon, based on Luke 16:19-24. Preached at Greenhills Christian Fellowship Toronto on Sunday, 31 May 2026.

The Kingdom Demand for Integrity
In this section of Luke (Chapters 9–22), Jesus provides a primer on kingdom living. In Luke 16, he specifically addresses the stewardship of resources. He warns us in verse 13: “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

When Jesus taught this, the Pharisees—who were lovers of money—ridiculed him. We see the core of their problem in that opposition. As 1 Timothy 6:10 reminds us, “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” Despite being well-versed in scripture, the Pharisees could not see Jesus as the Messiah because their hearts were fixed on wealth.

This confrontation leads to the kingdom demand for integrity. Jesus explains that the Law and the Prophets were the primary revelation until John the Baptist; since then, the good news of the kingdom has been preached. Jesus does not discard the law; he fulfills it. He interprets it correctly, exposing the Pharisees’ obsession with legalistic loopholes—such as their narrow, heartless definitions of work on the Sabbath—versus his own focus on doing good, healing, and honoring God. As Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27).

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
This brings us to the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31). We see a stark contrast: the rich man is drenched in luxury, wearing purple and fine linen, and feasting sumptuously every day. Lazarus, conversely, is covered in sores, longing for the crumbs from the rich man’s table.

Death is the great equalizer, but it also reveals a great reversal. In the afterlife, the rich man is in anguish while Lazarus is comforted by Abraham. The lifestyle gap of their earthly lives is replaced by a “great chasm” that cannot be crossed.

While some scholars debate whether this is a parable or a literal account of hell, it reveals profound truths:

  • Hell is an eternal, conscious torment
  • Hell is a eternal separation from God, the source of everything good and perfect
  • Being sent to hell is the result of actions we take in this life.

The rich man, even in his torment, asks Abraham to warn his five brothers. But Abraham replies, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them” (Luke 16:29). When the rich man insists that someone rising from the dead would convince them to repent, Abraham delivers the sobering conclusion: “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31).

The Sufficiency of Christ
The love of money acts as a false god. It is a replacement for God’s sufficiency. This trap is not limited to the wealthy; even if you believe that “having enough” is the key to solving all your life’s problems, you have placed your faith in money rather than God.

Money is a tool, but the love of money is a snare. We see the alternative in the life of someone like Kiwi, a former beneficiary of the Compassion program who was released from the cycle of poverty and now uses her life to share the truth of God’s love. When we view our resources through the lens of generosity rather than greed, we reflect the heart of Christ.

Scripture is sufficient. It acts as a mirror, pointing to our sin and revealing our need for a Savior. All the Law and the Prophets point to Jesus Christ. Sin is persistent, but the gospel is the glorious gift that saves us from it. May we be a people who truly love God, steward our resources with integrity, and care for those in need around us.

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Submit to One Another

Summary of my sermon, based on Ephesians 5:15-21. Preached at Greenhills Christian Fellowship Toronto on Sunday, 3 May 2026.

The concept of submitting is viewed a lot as a negative in our day. In modern society, it is associated with negative obligations, such as submitting assignments to a professor or clicking to submit a payment for bills. The most controversial association involves being forced to submit by someone who has greater power, much like a physical submission in martial arts or Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Because of this cultural lens, subsequent verses like Ephesians 5:22 (“Wives, submit to your own husbands”) are frequently dismissed as an archaic and misogynistic concept. However, this ignores the preceding foundational command in verse 21: “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” To understand this directive, we must redeem the modern idea of submission by examining its surrounding biblical context.

Walking in Love and Wisdom
The primary exhortation of this passage is found in verse 15: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as the unwise but as wise.” This directive is a direct echo of Ephesians 5:2, which commands believers to “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.”

The ultimate reason we are able to submit to one another is what Jesus did on the cross. Submission in view of the cross is not a manipulation tactic; it is voluntarily done in love.

Biblical wisdom is distinct from human wisdom. Worldly wisdom relies strictly on human reason and the capacity for information. Biblical wisdom has its source directly in God (Proverbs 1:7; James 1:5) and involves the capacity to act on that information appropriately.

Time Management and Quiet Competence
Ephesians 5:16 commands “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” In a world where people constantly attempt to dominate each other and force their will onto others, submitting to one another is a highly efficient use of time. It frees us from the time wasted on trying to one-up one another.

Rather than expending time and energy to make yourself look better than someone else, believers can demonstrate quiet competence. Obeying God against the grain of our evil world allows believers to stand out as light in the surrounding darkness. Understanding and obeying the will of God is true wisdom, even if the world dismisses it as foolishness.

The Antithesis of Spirit-Filling
Verse 18 provides a critical contrast: “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”

To understand what it means to be filled with the Spirit, it is instructive to look at its exact opposite: being drunk. Intoxication involves losing physical control, emotional outbursts, disorientation, and confusion. Historically, some movements, such as the 1990s Toronto Blessing, falsely equated inebriation with spiritual filling. Practices such as “falling in the spirit,” hysterical “holy laughter,” “holy animal sounds” (barking like dogs), and staggering as if “drunk in the spirit” are the antithesis of the Apostle Paul’s instruction. God is a God of peace, not confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).

The Marks of a Spirit-Filled Community
Rather than disorientation, being filled with the Spirit is marked by specific, orderly practices within the community:

Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs: Singing is explicitly commanded in the New Testament. Music elevates our communication and stirs up our affection for God, acting as a genuine way to show care and concern for each other.

Grounded Communication: Parallel texts like Colossians 3:16 mandate that the “word of Christ richly dwell in you.” The content of our communication must be steeped in the Word of God.

Giving thanks always for everything: Expressing constant gratitude to God serves as the baseline for all actions. Recognizing that everything comes from God makes it easier to look at the needs of one another and respond with generosity—with our time, words, and effort.

Conclusion
The passage culminates with the command to voluntarily submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. If believers successfully value others above themselves, they will fundamentally contrast with a world obsessed with selfish gain. This requires modeling the mindset found in Philippians 2:5-8: humbling ourselves like Christ, who became obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.