I. INTRODUCTION
A. When you were a child, you were compelled by your parents to do certain things.
1. You asked, “Do I have to eat my vegetables?” Your parents compelled you.
2. You asked, “Do I have to go to school?” Your parents compelled you.
3. You asked, “Do I have to clean up my room?” Your parents compelled you.
B. Now that you are an adult, you are still compelled to do certain things.
1. You are compelled to pay your taxes.
2. You may be compelled to serve on a jury someday.
3. You are compelled to do many things that you may not want to do.
C. When it comes to serving the Lord and your fellow Christians, do you feel compelled to serve or do you want to serve?
1. Do the expectations of others compel you into service, or do you serve with a sincere, loving desire for God and others?
2. Is your attitude about service such that it causes you to ask, “Do I have to do this?”
3. In this lesson, let us consider the subject of compulsion regarding our service to God and others.
II. A BIBLE DEFINITION OF COMPULSION
A. The English definition of the word “compulsion” is “the act of forcing or driving to a course of action.”
1. To have a compulsion or to be compelled is to be moved to action even against one’s own will.
2. Compulsion is not always a matter of being forced to act as if at the point of a gun. It can be a matter of the way one interprets circumstances, influence, or expectations.
B. A Bible word that has a similar meaning to “compulsion” is the Greek word anagkē.
1. This word is comprised of two other words – ana and agkalē.
a. Ana means “amidst, among, or between.”
b. Agkalē means “the curve or inner angle of the arm, the bent arm.” See Luke 2:28 where Simeon took the child Jesus agkalē, meaning “into his arms.”
c. Taken altogether, the meaning of anagkē is “amidst constraint.” The idea of the word is the action a person is constrained to do by his circumstances.
2. Anagkē is found eighteen times in the New Testament and is variously translated as “compulsion,” “necessity,” “need,” “distress,” “constraint,” and other similar English words.
III. NOT UNDER COMPULSION
A. The word of God is written to influence us to serve God, but it does not compel us by force.
1. God has always appealed to man through His word on the basis of reason.
a. The speeches of Moses in Deuteronomy are good examples of how God’s word influences men by telling them the benefits of serving Him and the punishments for defying Him.
b. Remember Joshua’s reasonable appeal to Israel in Joshua 24:15 – “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
c. All of the Psalms, Proverbs, and Prophets are messages from God that use reason to influence man’s behavior.
d. All of these appeals are characterized by God’s words in Isaiah 1:18 – “Come now, and let us reason together.”
2. If God wanted to force us into His service, then He could do it.
a. Our God created all things (Gen. 1:1; John 1:1-3), and our Lord still “upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3). God does not lack the power to control us.
b. Christ demonstrated His great power when He compelled both nature and spirits to obey His commands (Mark 1:27; 4:41).
c. If God wanted to compel us by force into His service, then there would be no need to convince us through the message of His word. He would simply force us to comply with His will.
B. God does not compel us by force because He desires faith from us.
1. Compulsion by force is not a component of faith.
a. Faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
b. The assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen do not come by compulsion, but rather they come by the influence of God’s word (Rom. 10:17).
c. The great characters of faith in Hebrews 11 (Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, etc.) show us that faith is not forced. None of them were forced to serve God, but rather each one chose to serve because of belief in unseen things.
d. Thus, we see that it is faith that motivates true servants of God, not compulsion by force.
2. When we choose to serve God by faith rather than compulsion, this pleases Him. Notice Hebrews 11:6 – “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
C. Therefore, let us serve God out of sincere faith and not out of compulsion.
1. In the following passages, notice how compulsion is not to motivate Christians.
a. Regarding giving for the needs of others, Paul wrote, “Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2Cor. 9:7).
b. Paul admonished Philemon “that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will” (Phm. 14).
c. Peter directed elders to “shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God” (1Pet. 5:2).
2. A Christian who has sincere faith by the word of God will serve God naturally and voluntarily so that no compulsion is necessary.
a. A sincerely faithful Christian does not ask regarding God’s service, “Do I have to?” Instead, he wants to serve God and his fellow Christians.
b. Notice 1Timothy 1:5 – “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
i. Such faith cannot be compelled. It must come from the heart.
ii. God will not be satisfied without such faith, for anything else is pretended faith feigned for the satisfaction of men’s expectations.
c. The correct attitude of a Christian is captured in this phrase from the hymn His Yoke is Easy – “His service is my sweetest delight.”
3. If God does not compel us to serve Him and others, then neither should we compel one another.
a. Let us understand the difference between compulsion and encouragement in this context. Compulsion is overbearing pressure, whereas encouragement is loving support.
b. Pressuring unbelievers to go through the motions of obeying the gospel or Christians to feign faithful service does not produce the sincere faith that pleases God.
i. Remember Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
ii. Loveless commandment keeping is of no value (1Cor. 13:1-3).
c. Christians do not need to compel one another to give of their means, for giving should come from the heart of the giver (2Cor. 9:7).
d. Likewise, Christians do not need to compel one another to serve, for service should come naturally by faith and love. Notice 1Thessalonians 4:9 – “Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.”
e. Furthermore, Christians do not need to compel one another to assemble together (Heb. 10:25), to study the Bible (2Tim. 2:15), or to visit the needful (Jas. 1:27).
f. If we attempt to compel faithfulness in one another by pressure, embarrassment, or force, then we will foster a contrived, artificial faith that is of no use to anyone.
IV. CONCLUSION
A. Regarding service to God and others, consider the question again: “Do I have to?”
1. No, I don’t have to, because God will not force me nor should anyone else.
2. However, if I want to realize the promises of God, then I must.
B. What does the word of God and your heart tell you?