Chardon church of Christ

What Is The Purpose Of My Life?

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF MY LIFE?
TEXT: Nehemiah 1:1-10, 6:1-2; Ecclesiastes 3:11

It was 1940, & a time of great crisis in Europe. The German armies had already conquered most of Eastern Europe. And now the blitzkrieg was sweeping across Western Europe toward England. In less than a week, Netherlands, Luxembourg, & Belgium had fallen, & France was next. Adolph Hitler was boasting that within 2 months he would march at the head of his victorious army into London, itself. With that, Neville Chamberlain, who was Prime Minister of England and had been completely fooled by Hitler, resigned in disgrace.

Winston Churchill, who had long been warning the English people about Hitler, was asked to be the next Prime Minister. From then on it was obvious that the outcome of the war & the future of Europe would largely depend upon Churchill’s leadership.

If I were Churchill, I would have felt the terrible pressure of leadership at that moment. But Churchill wrote: "As I went to bed at about 3 A.M., I was conscious of a profound sense of relief. At last, I had the authority to give directions … I felt as if I were walking with Destiny, & that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour & for this trial..."

What caused Churchill to possess such confidence? He was taking over an unprepared country against the greatest military machine that had ever been created up to that time.
How could he possibly say, "I was conscious of a profound sense of relief"? Evidently, he had an overwhelming sense of "purpose" for his life. Churchill was just one person, but through the efforts of that one person, strategically placed & courageously leading, the spirit of England turned from despair to hope. Gradually the war was won, not only saving England, but some would claim, saving democracy as a form of government in the world.

This morning I'd like to talk about living our lives with a sense of purpose. You & I were put on this earth with gifts, talents, & relationships that are waiting to fulfill God's purpose. Like Churchill, in God's plan, we each have a destiny to fulfill. I know you're probably thinking, "I'm no Churchill." And you're right.

But you are you. And I believe God has a purpose for your life too. There's one individual in Scripture who may illustrate this better than anyone else. His name was Nehemiah. In 586 B.C., the Babylonians invaded the country of Judah & totally destroyed Jerusalem, tearing down its houses & walls, & even the glorious temple that Solomon had built.

And they carried off thousands of Jews as captives to Babylon. But within 70 years, the Babylonians themselves had been conquered by the Persians, & any of the Jews who wanted to do so were allowed to return home. The returnees started to rebuild Jerusalem & the temple, but the task was so overwhelming that they soon gave up in discouragement, & the city remained in ruins. For nearly 100 years conditions continued to deteriorate in Jerusalem.
Sacrifices were no longer being offered, & many Jews were beginning to adopt the lifestyle & culture of the pagan people surrounding them.

But one man, back in Persia, was about to discover & live out God's purpose for his life. His name was Nehemiah.
And from his example I believe we can find a way to answer an important question in our own lives.

And that question is: "What is the purpose of my life?" To answer that, the story of Nehemiah suggests 3 actions that we need to take.

THE 1ST ACTION we need to take is to CULTIVATE A CONCERN. A life of purpose begins with a real concern that God has given you.

Churchill spent years learning & preparing & strategizing. Why? Because God had given him a concern about the safety of his people & his nation. Purpose always begins with a God-given concern.

Listen to Nehemiah 1:1-4: "In late autumn of the 20th year of King Artaxerxes' reign, I was at the fortress of Susa. Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. "I asked them about the Jews who had survived the captivity & about how things were going in Jerusalem. They said to me, 'Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. 'They are in great trouble & disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, & the gates have been burned.' When I heard this, I sat down & wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, & prayed to the God of heaven."

Nehemiah's concern over Jerusalem consumed him. He couldn't get it out of his mind. He continued faithfully with his duties, but inside, his heart was broken as he mourned & fasted & prayed about the plight of Jerusalem.

God's purpose for you will always begin as a God-given concern. I'm not talking about a temporary concern. I'm talking about something that sticks with you.

Someone once stated that: "You will hear or see something that gets your attention. A thought related to the future will generate an emotion. Something will bother you about the way things are, or the way things are headed. Unlike many passing concerns, these will stick with you.

You will find yourself thinking about them in your free time. You may lose sleep over them. You won't be able to let them go because they won't let you go.” Maybe God is already in the process of developing concerns in the hearts of some of you here this morning. If so, let me make a few observations about those concerns.

First of all, realize that not everyone will share your concern. Did you notice that nobody else seemed to be concerned about the wall? For years, the walls of Jerusalem had been broken down. But no one else seemed to be crying about the broken-down walls. Nehemiah's concern was Nehemiah's alone. But what about us today? It's possible God has given you a concern, but you haven't cultivated it because nobody else seems to share that concern. Stop waiting for others! God has given you that concern for a reason. It's up to you to begin to cultivate & pray about that concern.

Secondly, realize that not everyone who has a concern will do anything about it. Remember, when the people first returned to Jerusalem they had tried to rebuild the walls. But they gave up, & 100 years went by.

During those 100 years do you think that anybody else was concerned about rebuilding the walls? Yes, there must have been some. But they didn't do anything about it. Talking & doing are two different things. You see, not everyone who has a concern will do something about it.

Thirdly, realize that God often gives a concern before He provides a solution. Some of you may have God-given concerns, but you haven't done anything about them. Why not? Because you haven't seen yourself being used by God as a part of the solution.

Nehemiah was a cup-bearer to the king. He was responsible for ensuring the safety of the king's food & drink. Yes, he had become very concerned about the need to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. But he wasn't in a position of authority to do anything about it.

You see, I believe that sometimes God will give us a deep concern, yet it won't be immediately obvious that we can do anything about it. But don't abandon it. Cultivate that concern. Pray about it. Bring it before God.

Somebody has said, "There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart. Pursue those."

The second action is this: "Focus on the eternal."
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, "He has set eternity in the hearts of men." And a life that's seeking God's purpose focuses on making an eternal contribution.

There's a big difference between good ideas & God ideas. God ideas always center on the eternal. What made Nehemiah's concern a God idea?

Nehemiah 1:8-10 tells us. Keep in mind that we're over-hearing Nehemiah's prayer to God. Nehemiah prayed: "Please remember what you told your servant Moses: 'If you sin, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to me & obey my commands, “even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored. We are your servants, the people you rescued by your great power & might.

“O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success now as I go to ask the king for a great favor. Put it into his heart to be kind to me."

Why was Nehemiah concerned about the broken-down walls? God had promised that if His people would return to Him, then He would bring them back from exile & bless them in their own land.

Nehemiah's concern wasn't really about a wall. His concern was about God's people taking their rightful place in God's plan. There's only one thing that will last into eternity.

Your career won't. Your reputation won't. Your bank account won't. Only one thing will last into eternity: people.
Our job is to use our money, time, & abilities to influence people eternally. Nothing else matters.

How do you develop a life of purpose?
Three actions.
1 Cultivate a concern.
2 Focus on the eternal.
And there's one more action you will need to take:

#3, "Concentrate your energy."
I'm going to fast-forward a little in Nehemiah's story. Nehemiah overcame years of discouragement & opposition, & when we pick up the story in Neh. 6, the wall is almost complete. They were only days away from completing the project. But Nehemiah's enemies were stirring up trouble.
Nehemiah 6:1-2 says: "When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, & the rest of our enemies found out that I had finished rebuilding the wall & that no gaps remained – though we had not yet hung the doors in the gates – Sanballat & Geshem sent me a message asking me to meet them at one of the villages in the plain of Ono."

Sanballat & company invited Nehemiah to a meeting. Their plan was to get him off the project, Get him away from his supporters, & kill him.

But listen to Nehemiah’s response in Neh. 6:3. It's a verse that everyone ought to underline or highlight in their Bible. His response was this, "I am doing a great work & I cannot come down".

That is a powerful verse. Nehemiah knew that to accomplish his purpose, he would have to watch out for the greatest enemy of purpose. He would have to deal with distractions.

Things have a way of popping up to distract us from the main things God has called us to do. Many of these distractions aren't even bad things. But If we're going to accomplish God's purpose, we have to learn how to say “no” to some good things.

We need to live with this verse etched on our mind: "I am doing a great work & I cannot come down." I wrestle with this as much as anyone. I have the joy of living out my purpose. And yet I'm amazed by how easy it is to get distracted. Some distractions are good. And yet I have to remind myself often of Nehemiah’s thought, "I'm doing a great work & I cannot come down."

You & I were put on this earth for a purpose. God has given us unique contributions to make, & never underestimate the power of just one person.

Centuries ago a woman almost did. She thought things were too far gone. And she certainly didn't think there was anything she could do. It was only a matter of time before all Jews were to be killed. Her name was Esther. She was the Jewish wife of a Persian king, the man who had been tricked into making an irreversible, disastrous decision.

All Jews were to be exterminated. But could the tide be turned by … just ONE person? WITH GOD … of course, the answer is yes.

Esther's adoptive father, Mordecai, realizing that she, alone,
held the key to her husband's heart, appealed to her conscience.

(Esther 4:14) "For if you remain silent at this time . . . you & your father's house will perish…" She listened to his plea. What got her attention was his final line, "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

That did it. She broke long-standing protocol, went into the king's throne room … & rescued the Jews from a holocaust.
One woman – only one voice – saved an entire nation.

Of course, none of us will probably ever be a Churchill,
a Nehemiah or a Esther. And probably many of you are sitting there wondering what purpose God might have for your life. May I suggest one?

Since the only earthly thing that will last for eternity is people, then the greatest purpose you & I can have is to seek to influence someone to become a Christian and to remain FAITHFUL to Jesus throughout of lives.

Who do you know that you love & who may love you, who is not a Christian? Someone in your family? Maybe a close friend? How about making them your purpose in life? Don’t just think that is a lost cause, make them your God-inspired purpose!

Cultivate your concern for them, focus on the fact that the result will be eternal, & then concentrate your energy on reaching that loved one for Jesus. You might be amazed at the help God will give you!

A poet wrote, "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."

Having done that, please put aside all excuses & ask yourself, "What should I be doing?" Yes, you can make a difference. The question is, will you? If you don't do your part, who will?

INVITATION

God’s Grace is Sufficient

God's Grace is Sufficient
Second Corinthians 12:7-12

INTRO: Good morning. We covered in recent lessons - God’s Grace, our faith, works and God’s Law. We said that God's Grace represents everything He did to make salvation available for mankind. Today I would like to examine some more aspects of God’s grace.

Please turn in your bibles to 2 Corinthians the 12th chapter and I will read beginning in verse 7 through verse 12. 2 Corinthians 12:7-12 - “7. And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 11. I have become a fool in boasting; you have compelled me. For I ought to have been commended by you; for in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though I am nothing. 12. Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.”

Not long ago while reading this very familiar passage in which the apostle Paul refers to his “thorn in the flesh”, I came to v. 9. I could not get beyond the Lord’s response to Paul’s prayer ... “My grace is sufficient for you.” I wondered to myself could I be comfortable, could I be content, as content as Paul, with that assurance from God? “My grace is sufficient for you.” I wonder, too, just how many times, though knowing those words, might I have responded this way, “Yes Lord, but...” Can I be as accepting, can I be as positive, and can I be as comfortable with that assurance as was the apostle Paul? This morning I’d like to give you some of my thoughts as I reflected on these words “My grace is sufficient for you”. ... with the hope that I am not only able to help you, but also myself.

I. THE GRACE OF GOD – (TITUS 2:11-14). In the book of Titus, in chapter 2, the apostle writes in an interesting way of the grace of God. Go with me there now and let’s read starting in verse 11, “11. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12. teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13. looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14. who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” There are affirmations about the grace of God here. For example, the grace of God … brings salvation

A. God’s grace brings salvation

1. We find this also in the familiar verse in (Ephesians 2:8) – “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”
2. The grace of God is what brings salvation. We saw in previous lessons that neither the works of the Law of Moses nor works of merit which you and I might engage in can bring to us that salvation. It is only through the grace of God that salvation comes.

B. The second affirmation in the text in Titus is that - God’s grace has been manifest to humanity (it has “appeared”). If you turn to the gospel of Luke, chapter 2 let’s begin in verse 21 and set the scene Luke 2:21-22 - “And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. 22. Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord''”. This is where Joseph and Mary bring Jesus to the temple to do what is required by the law.

1. Next look down to verse 25 and we will begin to read about a man whose name was Simeon. I want to particularly notice what Simeon says about salvation and what his eyes have seen.
2. Luke 2:25-32 – “25. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, 28. he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: 29. "Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word;” now listen to these words – “for my eyes have seen Your salvation 31. which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, 32. a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.''” The salvation of God has been manifest and it has appeared in the form of Jesus Christ.
3. God’s grace appeared in the form of Jesus, His Son – In John chapter 1, verse 14 (John 1:14) we read “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” We beheld Him.

C. God’s grace is instructive. Third in the affirmation in Titus 2 is that the grace of God is instructive, the grace of God has appeared teaching. In the 20th chapter of the book of Acts, at verse 24, listen to this. –

1. (Acts 20:24) – “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” There it is. God has a message for us!
2. There is a message from God - that message is the gospel - that message is a provision of God’s grace. That message is a gift from Him, His grace extended to humanity. Going back to those words from 2nd Corinthians chapter 12, “My grace is sufficient for you.” There are four things I would like to address about this.

II. THE GRACE OF GOD IS SUFFICIENT...

A. The first is that God’s grace is sufficient to provide our salvation

1. The salvation that is provided by God’s grace is all the salvation there is going to be. It is complete; it is perfect, it is sufficient.
2. Any thought of salvation other than that which God’s grace provides is insufficient, ineffective, it is useless.
3. In the 2nd chapter of the book of Hebrews at verse 9 there is this (Hebrews 2:9) – “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.” Jesus’ atoning death is not just for one segment of society, or for one race of people. The grace of God, extended toward humanity, offered the atoning death of Jesus, “for every man”. That is the sufficiency of the salvation God’s grace has provided.
4. We, you and I, need to be very comfortable, with the simplicity of the salvation which God offers. 

B. God’s grace is sufficient to provide for our direction

1. The life we have on this earth presents us with so many choices, challenges, and dilemmas.
2. I know that we so often try to meet these things, answer these choices and challenges and dilemmas, with our own knowledge and our own wisdom. All too often the results of these attempts are not satisfying to our needs.
3. I ask you to look at the 20th chapter of the book of Acts again, and I will read from verse 31. (Acts 20:31-34) – “31. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. 32. And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33. I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. 34. Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me.” Looking at verse 32 again “… I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up… ”
4. God’s grace is sufficient to provide direction for our lives. God’s grace has provided the up building word - and it is sufficient, all we need, it is perfect. We remember from a very familiar passage (2 Timothy 3:16-17) – “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
5. God’s grace is sufficient to provide all of the information we need for our lives. So when we come to the perplexing problems of our lives, we go to the word of God, to the word of His grace, for answers, for direction, for instruction.

C. God’s grace is sufficient to provide for our hope

1. The reality is that life is not easy. I mean there are times when we can just roll along but the reality is that life can be very harsh. There are so many people, perhaps even among us here this morning who lack hope for the present or for the future. That said—let’s go back to Titus for just a minute.
2. To chapter 2 and I want you to look there and note verse 13 while I read starting in verse 11. Titus 2:11-13 - “11. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12. teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13. looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,”
3. We recognize that life isn’t easy; life can be very hard for so many of us. Maybe not all the time but there are times when it is most difficult. At those times we find ourselves wondering “what next?” Looking at verse 13 I realize the ultimate hope we have, even if life has been hard, exasperating, is that the Lord is going to come again and receive us to Himself and we will live eternally in heaven, and there won’t be any problems there.
4. I recognize also that we have hope in prayer. Lets read in 1st John chapter 5 verses 14 and 15. (1 John 5:14-15) “14. Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him...” We have hope in prayer.
5. And then in Psalms 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.” There is our hope. God is with us. We are not abandoned or left alone. God’s grace is sufficient to provide us with hope because He is always with us! I may at times feel like that God is distant, but I have to realize that it is not God who is moving. If God feels distant, I am the one who has moved. He is a very present help… I love those words in the King James, a very present help in trouble.

D. God’s grace is sufficient to provide us with comfort

1. Not the “creature comforts”, that is not the comfort I’m speaking of - but comfort in times of anxiety, distress.
2. In Philippians 4:7 remember that verse 6 talks about prayer and we will read that in a bit, but at verse 7: “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” – The peace of God, how wonderful it is to be at peace with God and how much we need that in our lives.
3. Peace in this world is certainly a difficult thing. When my day starts I take a moment to catch up on the news on the computer or the radio and the first news of the day is about conflict and turmoil. There was the St Louis school shooter, the homecoming week party shooting in North Carolina, two dead in a shooting in Hamilton Ohio on Tuesday, and the constant death tolls and reports of suffering in the Ukraine and Africa. Then I’m treated to the discouraging news of world leaders in Iran, Russia or North Korea. Not a very comforting picture is it? I sigh and see that this day starts out like so many others in a less then comforting way.
4. These are realities aren’t they? But when I talk about the comfort God’s grace offers, I’m talking about the peace of God which passes all understanding.
5. There is a wonderful passage I would like us to look at now: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” God is called the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, but I want you to particularly look at v. 4. Here I read something I am not sure we emphasize as much as it should be. Note that we are comforted by—God so that we may be able to comfort other people who themselves are in trouble. We understand that Gods comfort may come to us through those who themselves have experienced the comfort of God!
6. Yes, we have the comfort of the scriptures (Romans 15:4) “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”.

a. Yes, and by prayer (Philippians 4:6) “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;”
b. - but the comfort we can receive from faithful, devoted, mature Christian people is so “here, and now”. How wonderful this is that God provides us comfort through the comforting arm and the encouraging word of a brother or sister who has him or herself also been comforted. God’s grace in this way provides with “real time” comfort and encouragement.

III. BUT DO WE WANT MORE THAN THIS?

A. We are so rooted in this world and in this life

1. We are so caught up in things that are urgent and necessary.
2. Our eyes and our lives are so connected to the temporal – the demanding things.
3. We have bills to pay, doctors’ appointments, children to “taxi”, jobs to work - care to give to sick children, spouses, aging parents.
4. These are our realities - and they just will not wait. It is no wonder life can be so overwhelming, even all consuming.

B. The world can tend to become so very consuming in importance

1. The answers we want are; who’ll pay the bills. Who will relieve the pains. Who will taxi the children, etc. Who is going to do that?
2. To suggest to one who is overwhelmed by life’s realities that God’s grace is sufficient for them may not seem terribly satisfying.
3. “We need real answers to today’s problems ... now!”
4. So too, did the apostle Paul when he prayed, “remove this thorn from me”.

C. I know that there must be a reordering of the way we think.

1. That was, in effect, what the Lord told Paul when He answered Paul’s prayer. Paul wanted to be rid of the hurt, of the constant aggravation, whatever it was. God said “my grace is sufficient for thee”. You see the apostle Paul had to begin to think in a different way.
2. Yes, we have our problems in life you and I. Life has its realities - but if we have a deep and abiding relationship with our Lord God, in keeping with His word, I submit to you that that can change our perspective about our realities and our problems. The problems may not go away but we may be able to see them in a different way, perhaps in a different scale, that permits us to deal with them so much more constructively, and in a way that God would have us to deal with them.
3. Contentment in God’s grace takes the edge off of so many dilemmas.

IV. GOD’s GRACE IS MUCH MORE – Not long ago I read the following:

A. Yet, we suffer from a grace too small. We think grace is pleasant to receive. We think it’s ours to give, as if we could ladle raindrops from Niagara Falls.
B. But Grace isn’t safe: it’ll wreck your world. Grace assaults and grace subverts. Grace grabbed one man and knocked him to the ground. It rendered him blind and healed him three days later. Grace put him in danger time and time again: shipwrecked three times or more, beaten with rods and sticks, stoned and left for dead. Grace used him like a ragdoll, overthrew an empire and saved us all—even him, the foremost of sinners.

1. Grace assaults us in so many ways. We seldom see it coming, and after it’s gone we rarely know what, exactly, just happened. Grace whispers and sometimes yells. Grace asks, and it’s the one telling us how it’s going to be. It binds the strongman.
2. Grace is a strong man’s game. Its God’s game. He invented it and plays it full out. Good luck against Him. Grace huddles with the opponent, calls the play and then runs the ball right up the middle. The enemy knows it’s coming, but Grace executes the play—just try to stop it.

C. There’s only one way to deal with Grace. Surrender.

1. Grace is birthed in a stable and though it is homeless, it welcomes all who hear it and do the will of its Father. Grace pulls back the veil between heaven and earth; it turns the night sky into the glory of God. Grace is where shepherds gather and humble young parents play host to perfect strangers.
2. Grace wanders; it does not build a house. Grace searches for welcome. Grace calls at every door, but never trespasses. He stands at the door and knocks, ready to bring a feast inside. Vagabond grace is the beggar bearing treasure. We welcome the wretch into our home; he reaches into his threadbare bag and pulls out gifts more precious than gold. His satchel holds love, joy and peace. He bestows patience and kindness. He fills the room with the fragrance of goodness, and leaves behind a map to the faithfulness, and gentleness and self-control.
3. Grace is the subtle hand of God before our very eyes. Grace gives thanks for a humble meal, and thousands sit and eat. Grace never condemns, yet somehow commands us to go and sin no more. Grace walks the pavement and it turns to gold.
4. Grace supplies our deepest need. We want a deliverer; God sends grace. We want to see power and the glory; God sends grace and truth. We want a king; God sends a Servant. Grace rules the world without title or rank. Grace has legions at his command, and never once calls for their aid.
5. Grace is never a tyrant—but forever a king.

CONCLUSION: So maybe I just need to have those words etched in mind as a response to things which confront me each day - “my grace is sufficient for thee”.
I mentioned awhile ago that the grace of God brought salvation and that it is instructive. The grace of God having brought salvation in the form of Jesus Christ and His atoning death then instructs us in the way in which we receive the benefits of salvation. It instructs us through the written word that we must believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, repent of our sins, that we must confess our faith in Jesus Christ and then be buried with Christ in baptism. If we do this then we are restored to life in God’s view. Raised to walk, as Romans 6 says, in newness of life. It is in the book folks, it is in the book God has provided by His grace to instruct us.
If there are any here this morning that have not been baptized into Jesus Christ you are withholding from your life the blessing of God’s grace. As we sing this beautiful invitation song, I would urge you to come to the front and say I want to be baptized. That same grace that instructs concerning baptism, how one receives that salvation, also teaches Christian people how to live soberly, righteously and Godly in this present world. If we do not - we are quenching the grace of God. I would say to you my Christian friends that if that applies to you, you should repent of your sins and pray for forgiveness. The grace of God has brought salvation. The only question this morning is where you are relative to that salvation. Whatever your needs, we will do what we can to assist you and we encourage you to come while we stand and sing.
Song #644—Trust And Obey

Taken from sermon by Cecil A. Hutson, 06 August 2006, quote from Ray Hollenbach

Faith Grace and Law Part 2

Faith, Grace and Law Part 2
Romans 2:5-13

INTRO: Good morning. Previously we have examined the role of God's grace and our faith. Then we looked at God's law for us.

We saw that God's grace is His role in the redemption plan of mankind and includes everything that He did to accomplish our salvation. We saw there has to be a response from man for God's grace to be of any value. If no response was required, then everybody that ever lived would be saved automatically just by being alive.

The required response to God's gracious offer of salvation scripture says is faith. As a comprehensive biblical term, this word “Faith” represents everything that man does in response to what God has done for us in His gracious offer. Grace is God reaching down from heaven to mankind with an offer and a means of salvation. Faith is man reaching up to God in the hope of that salvation.

Next we talked about works. A work is defined as a mental or physical action which is intended to produce a result. Grace is the work of God. Faith is the work of man. God's grace and man's faith work together for a result. Both grace and faith are indispensable to the salvation process and both of them are works.

Thus, we rightfully conclude that if works were not necessary as many people in the religious world believe and teach, then salvation would be possible without any response from man whatsoever. Yet, Jesus teaches in Matthew 7:21 that only those who do the will of God can enter the kingdom of heaven.

We also saw that works cannot save us by circumventing God's grace or our faith. Works cannot save us by going around Jesus Christ to get us to heaven. Works cannot save us by compelling God to offer His grace. God's grace is a gift, freely offered, completely exclusive of anything that we could ever do. Works cannot save us by earning, paying for, or meriting salvation in any way. If works could save us, then we wouldn't need God's grace.

Faith is defined in the word of God as a work in First Thessalonians 1:3 and Second Thessalonians 1:11. We read those several times. Even though there are some ways in which works cannot save us, they are our response to God's grace and they are absolutely necessary if we want to be granted eternal life with God in heaven. Works are a necessary component of our faith.

We saw from scripture in the last lesson that there were two major law systems spoken of in the New Testament. There is the Old Law, which was the Law of Moses which has been done away with. The Law of Moses was the Old covenant Law.

Christians today live under the New Covenant or the New Testament. The New Testament contains law as well. The New Covenant law of God replaced the Old Covenant, Law of Moses. Law is defined as rule of behavior, and new covenant law shows us the way God wants us to live. It is how God wants us to behave as His children. If we did not have God's law, we would not know what our response to God's grace should be. Without God's law, we would not know how He wants us to live.

Today’s lesson picks up where we left off and the first question I want to look at is; Why did God give us His law?

God's law, God's commandments, are rules of behavior. These are how God wants us to behave. When we see a reference to a commandment in the New Testament, unless it is a reference to Old Testament law of course, we regard it as God's rule of behavior or simply God's law. God's New Testament commandments are law. Any reference in the New Testament to something God wants us to do or how He wants us to behave is His law. Whether it's from Jesus Christ or from the apostles, it's all inspired and it all comes from God.

God's law communicates His will to us. As Christians, we are regarded as the children of God. Speaking to Christians Galatians 3:26 reads – “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” God is our spiritual father. In Second Thessalonians 1:2, we read, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Like any loving parent, God gives His children instructions because He loves them. Without instructions, we, as God's children, would not know what He expects of us.

The word of God teaches us in John 5:28-29 that – “… the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” It would be a cruel father indeed who would condemn his children without telling them what they needed to do in order to avoid the damnation and receive the resurrection of life.

As earthly parents we teach our children how to behave because we love them and we don't want to see them get hurt. Our spiritual father in heaven gave us His law for the exact same reason.

If you turn with me to First John 5:2-3 we'll read there what John says about the love of God and His commandments. John writes by inspiration, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”

God gave us His law because He loves us for the same reason that we give our earthly children our commandments, our rules, our law, because we love them. We want them to do well. We do not want them to come to harm.

In Second John verses 5-6, John writes that “… now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.”[NKJV] I want us to note verse six again, “This is love, that we walk according to His commandments.”

God gave us His law because He loves us. Then, what does God's law do? How does it benefit us?

I. God's law restricts bad behavior. In Galatians 5:19-21 we read “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, 20. idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21. envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”[NKJV]

A. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 – “9. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10. nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”
B. Bad behavior causes harm to others and to ourselves. All of the bad things listed in these two scriptures are things that can bring physical harm upon us or on others. God's law does not permit us to engage in behavior that is harmful.

1. Imagine, if you will, what society would be like if it obeyed just these two scriptures. There would be no sexually transmitted diseases associated with the sexual sins listed above because there would be no sex outside of a marriage bond.
2. There would be no practitioners of fraudulent, untruthful, deceitful things, nobody who was envious of others, no murderers, no drunkards, and no thieves. There would be no haters. There would be no extortionists. It goes on and on. It would be a society of complete peace and harmony.
3. God's law restricts those behaviors and promotes peace and order within society. He gave us His law because He loves us, and His love is clearly seen through His law.

II. God's law provides equality. Galatians 3:28, where Paul writes “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

A. Romans 2:6-11 reads “6. who "will render to each one according to his deeds'': 7. eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8. but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 9. tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; 10. but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11. For there is no partiality with God.”

1. In a society living faithfully under God's law, there would be no need for civil rights movements. There would be no bigots. There would be no race baiters or racial crimes. There would be no women's rights violations or human rights violations that we read of in the news. Everyone would be equal and everyone would live in peace.
2. Under God's law, there is going to be equality in judgment. Those who do bad things are going to be punished with no regard to race, color, creed, class, or however much money they may have in the bank. We cannot buy justice and equality from God under His law. Under God's law, we have them.

III. God's law provides unity. In Ephesians 4:1-6, Paul wrote “1. I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to have a walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2. with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,

A. Now verse 3. endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5. one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6. one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
B. Just drive through almost any town in the United States and you will see any number of denominations. Each one has its own set of beliefs.

1. Jesus only established one body, and there is only one law. If everybody on earth obeyed that law, then there would be only one church. All Christians worldwide would be united under one head, and that's Jesus Christ. There would be no religious confusion.
2. There would be no need to hunt for a church that taught the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, because all Christians everywhere would be united in truth. God's law provides unity.

IV. God's law also provides order.

A. In our assemblies, God commands order. First Corinthians 14:33: “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” In this chapter Paul was dealing with things that were being done during their assemblies which caused confusion and disorder.
B. On down in this context at Verse 40 it says “Let all things be done decently and in order.”  This is the rule for organizing and conducting public worship services of the church. The first announcement of it came in a situation where it was drastically needed. Perhaps in some places there has been an over-formalization and over-zealous enforcement of it, but the failure to enforce it at all causes the same confusion seen in Corinth.
C. In our Christian lives, God's law requires order. In Hebrews 6:12 we read “that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

V. God's law provides for the protection of others. Second Corinthians 12:20 – “For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults:” He doesn't want the envying, the backbiting, the whispering and all of the things that are associated with those.

A. God's law restricts disruptive and harmful behavior toward one another, even to our enemies. Matthew 5:44 – “But I say to you, (this is Jesus speaking) love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,”
B. Protection for one another…God's law provides that. Galatians 5:15 – “But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!” Then going on down in the same chapter to verse 25 – “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

1. In Ephesians 4:2-3 we read – “with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
2. Colossians 3:13-14 reads “bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection”
3. We are to look out for one another. Christianity is a “one another” religion. For those of you with concordances, I invite you to look up the phrase “one another” in the New Testament and see how many times it comes up. You may be surprised. In the KJV the Greek phrase ἀλλήλων, allḗlōn, al-lay'-lone is translated “one another” 76 times.

C. God's law provides for the protection, the care, and the benevolent oversight that we have for one another.

VI. God's law will be used in judgment. James 2:12-13 we looked at this last week. “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

A. In John 12:48 as well, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, (that's Jesus speaking) has that which judges him, the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.”
B. In Romans 12:19-21, looking back at the law which provides protection even for our enemies, we read, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,'' says the Lord. "Therefore if your enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.'' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” God’s Law tells us to return good for evil and deploy good actions against the evil actions of our enemy for God's Law will be used in judgment.

VII. God's Law also includes what we must do to be saved.

A. Second Timothy 3:16-17 reads “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” God's law includes everything that we need for instruction in righteousness, for doctrine that we can be truly furnished, thoroughly furnished, all the way unto all good works. It's all there in His law. It's complete.
B. Looking back to what we read earlier in First John 5:2-3, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” John makes it clear that God's love for us is evident through His law.

CONCLUSION:
God’s Law demonstrates His love for us by restricting bad behavior, by promoting unity, by promoting order, by protecting others, by punishing those who have harmed us, and by giving us the complete instructions for living an acceptable life and inheriting an eternal home in heaven.

God's Law was given to us entirely for our benefit. As has been said before, imagine what a society would be like if everyone in it lived in accordance to all of God's law. It would be a very different from what we see today.

If everyone lived according to God's law, all of the bad things we see in our society would vanish. We'd be living in a harmonious, loving, unified society where nobody would have to fear thieves, rapists or murderers. There would be no hate crimes, no abortions, and no sexually transmitted diseases. There would be no wars, no religious differences, and no broken homes with children being raised by single parents. There would be no moral corruption, no need for locks or alarms or police protection.

If everybody lived in accordance with God's law, than all of the self-inflicted scourges of humanity would instantly disappear. This physical life that we're living right now would take on a whole new look. Yes, there's law in the new covenant, and every single element of it is for the well being of mankind.

Those who live by these rules are doing what they can to promote goodness and righteousness wherever they are. They are the lights shining in the darkness.
Those who do not live in accordance with God's laws are the bringers of darkness. Through their actions, they contribute to the problems we see in society today worldwide. Those who live outside the law of God are not part of the solution. They are part of the problem.

In the end, when all of this life has ended and we stand before God in judgment, the life we lived in accordance to the rules God graciously gave us, will determine where we spend our eternity.

Mankind is sinful and lost. By grace we are saved through faith. Grace is God's role and represents everything He did in providing mankind with a hope for salvation. Faith is man's role and represents everything done in response to God's grace. God's law is where we find the instructions for how we are to respond to God's grace in faith. By grace we are saved through faith, as evidenced by works, guided by God’s Law.

Romans 2:5-13 we looked at some of this at the beginning of the lesson. We're going to look at it again and expanded it a bit. While we do so let's think about judgment, deeds, works and law.

Paul writes “5. But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6. who "will render to each one according to his deeds'':
Paul continues at verse “7. eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8. but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath, 9. tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; 10. but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11. For there is no partiality with God.”

In verse “12. For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law”
And lastly verse “13. for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified;”

That is the conclusion of our look at faith, grace, works and law. It is my hope that we learn from this and take what we've heard in these four lessons, meditate on God’s word and make the right applications to our lives.
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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God; and be baptized for the remission of our sins… If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.

Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.
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Taken from a sermon by: David Hersey

Faith Grace and Law - Part 1

Faith, Grace and Law
Hebrews 8:8-13

INTRO: Good morning. In my last few lessons we examined the role of God's grace, our faith, and works in our salvation. We said that God's grace is His role in the redemption plan and includes everything He did to accomplish our salvation. Obviously there must be a response from man in order for God's grace to work. If everything God did to save man required no response then everybody who ever lived would be saved regardless of how they lived. Jesus makes it clear that this is not the case in, Matthew 22:14 – “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

The required response to God's gracious offer of salvation is summed up in God's word as "Faith". “Faith”, as a comprehensive Biblical term, includes everything man does in response to God's grace. Grace is God reaching down from Heaven to mankind with an offer and a means of salvation. Faith is man reaching upwards to God in realization of His doomed state, and in the hope of God's grace. Grace is God reaching down to man. Faith is man reaching up to God.

Any response whatsoever from mankind is a work. A work is defined as a mental or physical action which intended to produce a result. God's grace and man's faith works together to produce a result. Both grace and faith are works. Grace is the work of God. Faith is the work of man. Human works, though necessary, do not negate the need for God's grace or our faith. Both grace and faith are indispensable to the salvation process and both of them are works. Thus we rightfully conclude that if works were not necessary, then salvation would be possible without any response from man whatsoever. Jesus makes it crystal clear in Matthew 7:21 that this is not the case.

We also saw that works cannot save us by circumventing God's grace or our faith. Works cannot save us by repaying God for what His grace cost Him. Works cannot save us by compelling God to offer His grace. God's grace is a gift, freely offered, completely exclusive of man's works. Works cannot save us by earning, paying for, or deserving salvation in any way. If works could save us, we wouldn't need God's grace. In these ways, works cannot save us, but faith is a work (1 Thessalonians 1:3, 2 Thessalonians 1:11), so even though works cannot save, they are still necessary.

What I want to look at today is God Law. Where does God's law fit in all of this? This is an important question because there are those who claim Christ as savior, and make the claim that there is no law under the new covenant. I have heard it said among some that the old covenant is 'law and no grace' and the new covenant is 'grace and no law'. The purpose of this lesson is to make an examination of God's law and how it fits in with God's Grace and our Faith.

What is law? Law is a rule or a set of rules, enforceable, regulating the behavior of those over which it has authority. The short definition is a rule of conduct.

I. Is there law under the new covenant?

A. There are two laws spoken of in the New Testament. The most common one directly mentioned as law, is in reference to the Law of Moses. In Acts 13:39, Paul made a reference to the Law of Moses that is of particular relevance to this lesson. Paul said, “and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses”.

1. Paul made a reference here to the Law of Moses and in doing so he made a very important observation. The Law of Moses cannot justify anyone. The word “justify”, means to 'make just' or to declare one to be innocent. The Hebrew writer further explains this in Hebrews 10:4, where he wrote, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.”
2. The animal sacrifices under the Law of Moses were incapable of taking away the sins of the people. All they did was accomplish the rolling forward of sins. The animal sacrifices were only capable of appeasing God's wrath for a period of time.
3. The Hebrew writer tells us when this time was in Hebrews 9:15, where we read, “And for this reason He [Jesus Christ] is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”
4. Under the Law of Moses, the sins of the people were only atoned for until the death of Christ on the cross at which time His blood then provided the total and complete forgiveness of their sins.

B. In first century times, there was a lot of confusion and resistance from some Jews who just would not let go of the Law of Moses. A large portion of the New Testament is devoted to explaining the difference between the old and new covenant. It is vital to our understanding of God's law that we know the difference. Much religious error today comes from the inability of some to distinguish between the Law of Moses and the law of God under the new covenant.

1. For example, let's look at a particular verse which is contrasting the two laws we find in scripture and from there, we will make some observations and then build on this study of whether or not there is New Testament law.

a. Galatians 2:16 – “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”
b. In the book of Galatians, Paul was dealing with Judaizers who had crept into the churches and were convincing them that they should follow after the Law of Moses. Paul's singular purpose for writing the letter to the Galatians was to correct this false teaching brought in by those who refused to let go of the Law of Moses and were bringing Christians back under the old law.

2. Let’s examine the text of Galatians 2:16 and for a moment, let's look at it from the perspective that Paul is speaking of all the law of God and not just the Law of Moses. When Paul's statement in Galatians 2:16 is taken from its proper context, it can be, and is, used to set forth the belief that there is no law under the new covenant.

a. Those who want to go to heaven but don't want to commit their lives to serving God acceptably, convince themselves that they are safe from God's condemnation based on the misguided belief that the inabilities and inadequacies of the Law of Moses apply to all of the Law of God in general.
b. This belief allows them to live any way they want because they believe that the new covenant releases us from the Law of Moses and releases us today from obligations to a new covenant law.

II. Let's deal with this issue first. Is there law under the new covenant?

A. To answer this question, let's look at two key verses. The first is Romans 3:23 where Paul wrote, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” There is no one today, who is accountable before God, who has not sinned. All have sinned and fallen short.
B. In 1 John 3:4, we learn that "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." If then, there is no law at all under the new covenant and sin is a transgression of law, then how is it that all have sinned? What law was transgressed? For there to be a transgression of law, there must be a law to transgress. We cannot break a law where there is none. If there's no law against speeding then we can't break the speed limit. It is not possible to transgress a law that does not exist. Indeed, in Romans 4:15, Paul wrote, “… for where there is no law there is no transgression.”
C. Yes, there is law under the new covenant. So what is it called, and how do we know which law is being discussed when we see “law” referenced in scripture?

III. In referencing the new covenant law, Paul mentions this in Romans 8:2 – “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” Paul is contrasting two laws found in each covenant here. We have the law of the Spirit of life contrasted with the law of sin and death. We already know that the Law of Moses was incapable of the justification of anyone.

A. The Law of Moses was not a law, which when kept, could permanently free anyone from sin and condemnation. It is obvious that the law of sin and death is a reference to old covenant law.
B. The law of the Spirit of life is a reference to a law, which when kept, frees us from the old covenant law of sin and death. If there is no law under the new covenant, then it is not possible to be made free from the old covenant law. Yes, there is NT law, and in Romans 8:2 Paul called it the "the law of the Spirit of life".
C. While writing his inspired letter to the Galatian Christians, Paul wrote in Galatians 6:2 – “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” This reference to a law cannot be about the Law of Moses. God gave the Law of Moses to Moses on Mount Sinai centuries before Jesus Christ walked the earth. This was near the end of a letter that Paul wrote which was dedicated to the abolishment of the Law of Moses and how it does no good to keep it.

1. He makes mention of a law we are supposed to keep, and he called it the “law of Christ”. We are not required to keep the Law of Moses, but we are required to fulfill the law of Christ.
2. If there were no law under the new covenant, then there would be no law of Christ to fulfill. So far we have 2 references to new covenant law. Paul has called it the "law of the spirit of life" and the "law of Christ".

D. In James 2:8 we see another reference to new covenant law, “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself,'' you do well;”. James called this a “royal law”. That cannot be a reference to the Law of Moses because Moses was never a king. So then who is the king that James is talking about here?

1. Paul answers that question in 1 Timothy 6:14-15 – “that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,”. Jesus is our king under the new covenant so the royal law can be nothing other than the law of Christ.
2. If there is no new covenant law, then what are the standards by which Jesus rules us? A king who reigns over a people must do so with rules of behavior. We simply call these rules, law.
3. Paul called it the "law of the spirit of life" and the "law of Christ" and James called it the "royal law". James isn't finished yet. He also made a reference to new covenant law a few verses later in James 1:25 – “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”.

E. What is this liberty that James is speaking of here? Those who believe and teach that there isn’t any law under the new covenant, will tell you that this law of liberty is really freedom to live our lives, free of any of the rules of conduct required by God as found in scripture.

1. Is this true? We can put that to the test by reading carefully what the verse says, “… is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” If the law of liberty freed anyone from keeping God's law, then no one would have to be a “doer of the work” in order to be blessed.
2. Yes, there is law in the new covenant and James says we must be a doer of the work of this law of liberty. The law of liberty liberates us from the sins which the Law of Moses could not accomplish. The law of liberty does not liberate us from the need to obey God.

So far we have the:
1) "law of the spirit of life", which Paul said would free us from the law of sin and death.
2) "law of Christ", which Paul commanded Christians to Fulfill.
3) "royal law", which James commanded Christians to Fulfill. The result of this fulfillment is love for their neighbors.
4) "and the "law of liberty", which James commanded Christians to continue in and to do the work.

 

IV. In Paul's first letter to the Corinthians we see one of the most informative verses regarding the laws found in each covenant. 1 Corinthians 9:20-21- “and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law;”[NKJV]

A. Here is a parenthetical statement which Paul used to insure there was no misunderstanding. Paul says, "being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ".[KJV] However Paul adapted his conduct, it never involved disobeying the word of the Lord, or violating his allegiance to the law of Christ.
B. Paul was still living under law, and here he was discussing various ways in which he engaged in his evangelistic efforts to both Jews and Gentiles. “Paul accommodated himself to the prejudices and preferences of men so far as he could without sacrificing truth and righteousness, in order to win them to Christ ... He did this, not that he might be personally popular with any man, but that by doing so he might throw no obstacle in the way of their giving the gospel a fair hearing.” [David Lipscomb]

1. To those Gentiles who did not live under the Law of Moses, Paul says he made it obvious that he was not living under that law. Then Paul made an important statement regarding the law under the new covenant. He said "being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ", in other words, "I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law".
2. Paul declared to Christians that he and every single person on earth, both Jew and Gentile were not living without law. The law he was living under was the "law to Christ". Of the laws Paul spoke of in this context, the law to Christ is the one he is living under.

C. Concerning the law of God, Paul wrote in Romans 8:7 – “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.”

1. A carnal mind is a sinful mind. In this context Paul was discussing the differences between those who live with and without sinful minds. This mind is subordinated to Satan instead of God and was called "the carnal mind" by Paul here. Such a mind no longer has any regard or concern for eternal things and is occupied completely with this earthly life of flesh.
2. He says those who live with carnal minds are not living in obedience to the law of God. If there were no law under the new covenant, then it would not be possible to live outside the law of God. There is law under the new covenant and in this verse Paul called it the law of God.

So far we have the:
1) "law of the spirit of life", which Paul said would free us from the law of sin and death.
2) "law of Christ", which Paul commanded Christians to Fulfill.
3) "royal law", which James commanded Christians to Fulfill. The result of this fulfillment is love for their neighbors.
4) "law of liberty", which James commanded Christians to continue in and to do the work.
5) "law to God" Which Paul says he is not living without.
6) "law to Christ", which Paul says he is living under.
7) "law of God", which Paul says carnal minded people are not living in obedience to.

V. In our study of Hebrews we learn a very important fact about the new covenant and law.

A. Hebrews 8:8-13 – “8. Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming,'' says the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah 9. "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them,'' says the Lord. 10. "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days,'' says the Lord, "I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11. "None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, `Know the Lord,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12. "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.'' 13. In that He says, "A new covenant,'' He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”

1. There are a number of points that we can take from this context, relative to our lesson. There was going to be a new covenant. We know this new covenant is the New Testament under which all Christians live. But notice carefully, that God says that this new covenant is going to have its laws written on our hearts and in our minds.
2. This new covenant has laws. Being written on our hearts and minds tells us that Christians are going to follow this law from the heart out of love for God. Christians are going to follow the laws of the new covenant from their own free will, because they love God and want to obey Him. The new covenant which replaced the old covenant came with laws.

B. Finally, going back to James we see yet another reference to the law of liberty, James 2:9-12 – “9. but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11. For He who said, "Do not commit adultery,'' also said, "Do not murder.'' Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.”

1. James is very obviously not speaking about the Law of Moses here. The scriptures make it crystal clear that the Law of Moses contained in the old covenant has been replaced by the new covenant whose laws govern us today. There are some important points we can take from these scriptures.
2. It is a transgression of God's law under the new covenant to show favoritism. In Verse 10, James writes, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."
3. James lumps the entire new covenant law into one system. There is only one lawgiver, and only one law.
4. There are no transgressions of new covenant law that are more or less grievous to God. Any one transgression of any element of the law of Christ is a breach of the whole law because it breaks fellowship with the object of our faith, God.

a. James is reiterating something Jesus said in Matthew 5:19 – “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” ,
b. There is no such thing as a white lie or small sin. Any transgression of the law of Christ is a trespass of the whole law. Verse 11 is given as an example.

C. Another very important point we need to take from this context is found in verse 12, “So speak and so do, as those who will be judged by the law of liberty." The law of liberty James spoke of is going to be used to judge us in the end. In John 12:48 Jesus tells us that we will be judged by the things He spoke, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.”

Let's go back over what we have so far...
1) "law of the spirit of life", which Paul said would free us from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)
2) "law of Christ", which Paul commanded Christians to Fulfill. (Galatians 6:2)
3) "royal law", which James commanded Christians to Fulfill. The result of this fulfillment is love for their neighbors. (James 2:8)
4) "law of liberty", which James commanded Christians to continue in and to do the work of that law. Our liberty is the freedom from sin, not a pass from obedience to God's law. (James 1:25)
5) "law to God" Which Paul says he is not living without.
6) "law to Christ", which Paul says he is living under. (1 Corinthians 9:21)
7) "law of God", which Paul says evil minded people are not subject to but should be. (Romans 8:7)
8) The "New Covenant" will replace the old covenant and its laws will be imprinted on our hearts (Hebrews 8:8-13)
9) The "law of liberty" is transgressed by any violation of God's will. (James 2:9-11)
10) The "law of liberty" is going to be used to judge us. (James 2:12)

VI. The word of God teaches that there is most certainly law under the new covenant. And this law can be broken, which means we need to obey the new covenant law faithfully, because in the end, we are going to be judged by new covenant law.  In order for there to be any judgment, there must be a standard or a set of rules by which we are judged. Yes, there is law under the new covenant and we must live by that law if we are to have any hope whatsoever of an eternal home in heaven with God.

CONCLUSION:
In our previous lessons on Faith, Grace and works, we established the need for all of these things to work together in order to provide man with a means and method of salvation. If grace was all that were required then everybody on earth would be saved regardless of how they lived or how they believed. It's by grace we are saved through faith so we know that it can't be grace alone. We also cannot be saved by faith alone because without grace all the faith in the world would be useless to us. Works are a necessary component of faith; therefore we cannot be saved by works alone either. It takes all three of these things, grace, faith and obedience working together.

Add to these three things God's law under the new covenant. God's grace provided us with a means and a hope of salvation. It's not grace alone because man has to make a response to what God has offered. Everything man does in his response can be summed up as faith.  Works are everything we do by faith. God does not owe us anything for them. Works cannot save us by going around the blood of Jesus Christ. Finally, the new covenant law is what we have to obey in order to live faithfully under the rule of Jesus Christ our king. Grace gave us hope. Faith is our response. Law is what directs how we are to live. If we did not have God's law, we would not know what our response to God's grace should be. Without God's law, we would not know how He wants us to live.
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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God; and be baptized for the remission of our sins… If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.

Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.

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Taken from a sermon by: David Hersey

The Value of Bible Study

I Peter 1:23-2:3

After a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns, the church's minister once again slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit, and gave a very brief introduction of his childhood friend. With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit to speak.

"A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the Pacific Coast," he began, "when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to shore. The waves were so high, that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright, and the three were swept into the ocean."

The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in his story.

He continued, "Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life....to which boy he would throw the other end of the line. He only had seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian, and he also knew that his son's friend was not. The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves. As the father yelled out, 'I love you, son!' he threw the line to his son's friend.

By the time he pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beyond the raging swells into the black of night. His body was never recovered."

By this time, the two teenagers were sitting straighter in the pew, waiting for the next words to come out of the old man's mouth.
"The father," he continued, "knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus, and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son. How great is the love of God that He should do the same for us."
With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room. Within minutes after the service ended, the two teenagers were at the old man's side.
"That was a nice story," politely started one of the boys, "but I don't think it was very realistic for a father to give up his son's life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian."

"Well, you've got a point there," the old man replied, glancing down at his worn Bible. A big smile broadened his narrow face, and he once again looked up at the boys and said, "It sure isn't very realistic, is it?

But I'm standing here today to tell you that THAT story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to give up His Son for me. You see....I was his son's friend."

God expects His people to study His Word.
Babies in third world countries that are starving actually begin to lose their appetites due to malnourishment. A lack of appetite indicates a serious illness. A lot of times when relief workers will go over to these places and bring food to those that are starving and malnourished they have to force the people because they have lost their appetites.

There are many Christians that are seriously spiritually malnourished, and they have lost their appetites for the Word of God. The Bible is our source of spiritual nourishment.

We cannot expect to grow and stay strong in our faith apart from a regular diet of the Word of God. We as a church obviously cannot force-feed you, but we want to inspire a desire within you to desire and crave the word of God.

The Word of God was written for a purpose, and it wasn’t just because God thought it would be a neat thing to do, he wrote it so His people could know him better and know what He expects.
Text: I Peter 1:23-2:3
23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
2 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

I. Study God’s Word Together
We have Sunday Morning Bible studies aimed at trying to equip us with the knowledge and the tools necessary to stand strong in our faith.

While it is important that you study God’s Word on your own, and you can understand many aspects of God’s Word on your own, there is something special when a group of people meet together for the study of God’s Word.   I would like to encourage each member of Chardon to try their best to be a part of our Bible Study. I believe you will find that you are blessed because of it and you will also be a blessing to others.

There are several reasons that I feel that it is important to study God’s Word together...
A. Teachers Can Often Reveal New Information.   As you read through the Bible some concepts you can catch and understand on your own, the Bible wasn’t intended to be incredibly complex and hard to understand.

But sometimes you may need the help and understanding of someone who might have a deeper understanding of the scriptures.
Ephesians 4:11-12
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

There are some people that God has gifted with the ability to get great insight out of a passage.
Also, though you may have read a passage or story countless times we can always learn and grow from people.

The Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8 has been in Jerusalem worshipping, and he probably had heard some things about Jesus, and he was reading from Isaiah 53 about the suffering servant. He could not understand that particular Scripture on his own, he needed some help.

Phillip explained to him that the passage was talking about Jesus. There are times we can learn simple truth all over again or something that is taught may give us new insight into a particular passage.

The basic stuff is important and can nourish us spiritually; it doesn’t have to be a deep and new teaching for us to grow from it. Sometimes we simply need to be reminded of great Bible truths that we may be familiar with.

Some people feel that they have no need for the basic stuff, or they feel once they have read the Bible some they have read it enough.

Imagine if one day you came home and you had been working all day long, and you were starving. You asked what was for dinner, and you heard you were having the same meal you had 2 weeks ago. It is highly unlikely you would refuse that meal because you had it before. You still enjoy the basic foods that you eat.   How many times have you eaten pancakes, steak, bacon & eggs?

B. Others Can Benefit From Our experiences
Maybe you are a new Christian and think that you cannot bring much to a study,
but your questions and insight helps others to see God’s word more clearly and drives people to study.

I have learned that every person has some great insight,
every person has a different background, and different experiences that they can bring to the table.

When we meet and study, a class is better when we all share our insight.   Your insight may not seem like much to you, but what you say and share can greatly benefit and encourage others who are present.

We all are at different points in our lives; we are at different points in our Christian walks.
Some people have not been Christians long; some have been for a long while.

We have different experiences which makes us who we are.
We have all been through different trials and different roads.
Our experiences pooled together in a study can help a whole group grow and learn something they otherwise wouldn’t have learned.

I want to encourage you if you don’t regularly attend a group study here at Chardon, please consider doing so because others of us can grow, benefit, and be blessed by your insight and experiences even if it may not seem like much to you.

C. It Makes You Accountable For...
i. Having Godly Attitude
Hopefully all of us want to be the best people that we can possibly be. Hopefully we all want to please God in everything that we do. When we examine ourselves we see clearly that we fall short. We always need to be in the process of checking ourselves, and we should value the times when it is revealed to us that we are doing something wrong.

When we meet together and Study God’s Word in community sometimes our shortcomings are revealed to us. God’s Word reveals things about our attitudes that may need to change. The Spirit works through the Word and other people sometimes to help us see right from wrong.

Do you remember how David benefited from the accountability he received from other people? David’s sin with Bathsheba was not pleasing to God. The prophet Nathan came to David and confronted him about his ungodly action and that confrontation lead to repentance. It was hard for David to accept the fact that he had messed up, but in the end it leads him to a closer relationship with God.

We do not like learning that we are wrong about something. We may even get angry or frustrated, but in the end when we learn our faults it can lead to positive changes. Studying God’s Word together holds us accountable for having a godly attitude.

Your attendance at church is important because it is an opportunity to worship God, it is also important because it is an opportunity for you to learn from the Word of God. Sometimes being at church and coming to Bible studies is inconvenient and difficult. It may be tough for you because you have a busy schedule, because you have a lot going on, but I think studying God’s Word together with a group of people is a blessing to our faith.

I believe God expects His people to study His Word.
Coming to Bible study is not a burden that we have, but it is an opportunity.
The early Christians were always eager to meet together and study together. Studying God’s Word together holds us accountable to being faithful in attendance and faithful in our daily Bible study times.

iii. Sound Doctrine
Studying God’s Word can also help us to be held accountable for our doctrine. Despite what many say, it really does matter what we believe, and there are many false teachers who would like to deceive you.
2 Peter 2: 1-3
2 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

There is a reason Paul told Timothy to watch his life and doctrine closely. Perhaps you could be listening to a preacher and hear them say something of how Proverbs says that if you are generous you will surely prosper.
You may fall into believing that, but if you are part of a group that studies God’s Word someone may remind you that it may be talking about spiritual prosperity.

If you have a group of people ... most likely there are people that understand different concepts and have retained different knowledge.
When you pool knowledge together it may be easier for each of us to learn and understand what God wants us to know about him and our salvation.
Ultimately what it comes down to is the Word of God is our measure of right and wrong and our measure of what Truth is.
If we do not search the Scriptures regularly and together we are subject to fall into a false teaching.

 

Acts 17:11

11 These were more [a]fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
Being part of a group study holds us accountable to what we believe.

D. Develops Strong Relationships
You read in the book of Acts about groups of people who were incredibly close and had deep strong relationships. There is a reason for that...

Acts 2:42
42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

We can do things together all day long, but studying God’s Word builds strong relationships faster than anything you can do. Another reason why you should study together is because of the bonds and the relationships that are formed through those studies.
I have seen in small group studies how barriers can be broken, and relationships can be formed as people study God’s Word together.

II. Study God’s Word Privately
If you attend one hour of worship a week, I think you can grow and learn some Bible, but I think that you are missing out on something great. We cannot get enough spiritual nourishment by hearing one sermon a week.

A USA Today Poll reported that 11% of American read the Bible every day. The Barna research group reports that among those claiming to be Christians only 18% read the Bible every day and 23% admit that they never read the Bible.

1 Timothy 4:7-8
7 But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. 8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

As we mature in Christ our appetites may change, we start to desire solid food instead of milk. That is what it means to grow in our faith. We need realize there is more to our faith than just being saved; there is a lifestyle that glorifies God and brings joy to us.

Bible Study never grows old and no matter how long we have been Christians... God’s Word is still relevant because God’s Word discusses many things we need.
It discusses building relationships, preparing for the second coming, handling our finances, how we are to live and how we can know God.

2 Timothy 2:15

15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

People after hurricanes read and reread their insurance policies to see if they are covered and to see what help they can get. They want to know if their homes were covered if the things inside their homes were covered, if their hotel stays were covered. They do that to make sure that they do not fail to claim something that the insurance would pay, they don’t want to miss out on something

How much more vital is the word of God though? It is through the Word of God that we see and can claim promises that God offers us, it is in the Word of God that we read what God expects of us, yet so many people are living their lives based on how they feel God is and will be at judgment.
Sadly, many of those thoughts are based on preconceived ideas rather than the Truth of the Word of God.
Perhaps occasionally we need to ask ourselves some painful questions like: if your growth in Christ were measured by your amount of Bible intake where would you stand?

If you come to the conclusion that you have neglected the Word of God, then you need to determine what you are going to do to fix the problem? I think it begins by making intentional steps to read the Word.

I can make this promise to you...
if you read God’s Word regularly for an extended period of time with an open mind and heart it will change your life for the better.

Always remember though, that there is no one that is above the need to be in the Word of God.
God invited us to come and know Him better, and he has revealed himself in his Word, let us make the most of that opportunity so that we do not miss out on something that he has to offer. That is why God expects members of His Church to read the Word.

Joshua 1:6-8
6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Faith and Works

Faith and Works
James 2:14

INTRO:
This lesson that we're going to have today is related to the lesson that we had on God's grace and our faith. The reason that I want to expand our look in scripture, is that there are some objections to the idea of faith being an active faith. One of the main arguments brought to bear against it, is that we're not saved by works.

In my last lesson, we saw that grace, as a comprehensive Biblical term, represented everything that God did in providing salvation to mankind.

We see that “The wages of sin is death…” in Romans 6:23, which means separation from God. Sin is a violation of God’s law and causes mankind to lose fellowship with Him. God is holy and just, and He cannot overlook our sins. There has to be a punishment for sin, and that punishment is eternal separation from fellowship with God. The only way that man can regain that fellowship is if he pays the just penalty for that sin.

It doesn't matter what that sin is. The penalty is the same. We have all lost our fellowship with God and that cannot be restored unless we pay the penalty in full.

Thankfully for us, God is rich in grace and mercy and does not want to see us suffer for all eternity. He wants people to have a chance to regain that fellowship. He provides a plan where a person can have the hope of being reconciled.

We said that God was under no obligation to do this. There's nothing mankind can do to earn it or pay for it, and we don't in any way deserve it. Nothing man did compelled or can compel God to do this.

This means of reconciliation came at a great personal expense for God, namely the life of His Son as a substitutionary death penalty for us. God could have washed His hands of mankind and walked away to leave us to our fate forever. He would have been perfectly within His right to do that very thing.

He didn't owe us anything. We got into this predicament all by ourselves. God is absolutely blameless in all that we have done and God has no obligations toward mankind in this affair beyond what He has obligated Himself for.

Because God loves us so much, He graciously came up with a plan by which man could be reconciled to Him and escape this death penalty of sin. Grace can be illustrated as God reaching down from heaven toward doomed mankind with an offer of salvation. His motivation for doing this is entirely out of His love for us. That is grace.

Faith, as we learned in my last lesson, is a comprehensive Biblical term representing man's response to God's gracious offer. We respond to God's grace by and through faith. Grace alone cannot save us, because if it did, then everybody living would automatically have their tickets punched for the ride to heaven, no matter how they lived. We have to respond to God's gracious offer in order to receive it. The response we must give is represented in the Bible as faith. Ephesians 2:8 reads “For by grace you have been saved through faith…” .

Neither grace nor faith is mutually exclusive, meaning one does not rule out or cancel the other. Our salvation is not by grace only because we must have faith. Salvation cannot be by faith only because we must have grace. Salvation is made available by grace through faith.

Two roles, two actions, two responses working together. God responded to our situation with grace. We respond to God's offer through faith. In order for either one of these to be of any benefit to us, we have to have both.

When we read Ephesians 2:9, we see another point that Paul makes in that same context, “not of works, lest anyone should boast.” How do works operate in our faith response?

This is a very important question that needs to be answered because there are a vast number of people who believe and teach that faith is really faith only and that no works are necessary. They support this teaching by saying that works don't save us, and within the proper context, they are absolutely right. Works do not save us.

The remainder of this lesson is going to examine the role of faith and how it relates to work.

I. First of all, we need to define what a work is. A work is any mental or physical act that is intended to produce a result. The act of making a decision is work. Even the mental exercise of believing something is work, you've done something. Believing something requires the intake of information upon which a decision is made. That is an act which is intended to produce a result. It is therefore a work in and of itself.

A. The Bible even defines faith as a work in First Thessalonians 1:3, where Paul writes “remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,”

1. Again in Second Thessalonians 1:11, Paul wrote, “Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power,” Faith is a work. And for those who believe and teach that biblical faith means faith only, i.e. that we are saved by faith without works, this becomes a problem.
2. If we are not saved by works, then we cannot be saved by faith, which is defined as a work in Scripture. Then how do we solve this? How can we be saved through faith, which is a work, but not be saved by works?
3. The simple answer to this is that the Word of God does teach us that we're not saved by works, but it never, ever, says that we can be saved without them.
4. Some people have the understanding that we are not saved by works, therefore we are saved without them. That understanding is an assumption that is totally foreign to what the Word of God actually teaches us about faith and works. Our understanding of faith and works must come from a comprehensive view of all that has been written about them.
5. Jesus declared in Matthew 7:21 that only the obedient would inherit eternal life. One cannot be obedient to Jesus without engaging in a work.

B. Not all works are the same, and not all of them have the same application in regard to our salvation, the same function. There is more than one kind of “works” and there is more than one way they are relevant to our salvation. One must ask, in what way do works save me and in what way do they not save me?

1. One. The gift of God's grace, which is everything He did in order to secure a means and hope of salvation for a person, cannot be bypassed by any work. God's grace cannot be taken away from, or diminished by any human work. God's grace cannot be earned, it cannot be paid for. It cannot be deserved or merited by anything that we could possibly do. In that way, our works cannot save us. Our works cannot save us by going around or bypassing God's grace.
2. Two. God was under no obligation to provide man a means of salvation. He would have been perfectly within His rights to just allow us to spend an eternity in Hell. Yet, God’s entire plan of redemption for mankind was all set in place before time began.

a. In speaking of Christ, Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:20- “He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.”
b. Paul wrote in Romans 5:8 – “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” No human work can add to or take away from that commitment. In that way, we are not saved by our works. Our works cannot save us by going around God's plan of salvation.

3. Three. Jesus gave His life for us. Galatians 2:20 – “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” He died the death we deserve. 1 John 2:2 – “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”[NIV] No human work can make that sacrifice unnecessary. In that way we are not saved by our works. Our works cannot save us by going around the blood of Christ.
4. Four. Jesus said in John 14:6 – “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus is the mediator. No human work can bypass Christ and get us to the Father. In that way we are not saved by our works.
5. Five. We were dead in our sins before we came to Christ (Colossians 2:13). He purchased us with His own blood, (Acts 20:28). We were purchased with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20, and 7:23). He is the guarantee of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:14).

a. We were dead, and now we are alive. The cost was Jesus blood. We belong to God. He is rightfully entitled to everything we do.
b. Every work we engage in rightfully belongs to Him. Our works are not solely ours to decide what we're going to do with them. There's nothing we can do that will buy us back from God. We have nothing to offer that does not already belong to Him. In that way, our works cannot save us.

II. In the last lesson, we looked at the term “faith” as it was used in many applications in the word of God. We're going to go back through some of those. You're going to remember some of them, and we're going to make some observations as it relates to the subject of works.

A. Let's keep in mind as we go through this list that faith is defined as a “work” in the Word of God.

1. Remember in 1 Thessalonians 1:3 faith is a work. We're going to read that one again. “remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,”
2. Then again, 2 Thessalonians 1:11 – “Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power,” The inspired Apostle Paul defined faith as a work.

B. The work of faith is our shield. Ephesians 6:16 – “above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one”

1. Using our faith as a shield is a work of faith. We cannot use our faith as a shield and quench the darts of the wicked without doing something—engaging in a work. Using our faith as a shield requires a decision to do so, and the act of doing it.
2. God does not owe us anything when we do this. We don't deserve God's grace, nor can we merit our salvation by making our faith a shield. We have not bypassed Jesus with this work of faith. We have not added to or taken away from God's grace with this action in any way, shape or form.

C. The work of faith is both a sacrifice and a service. Philippians 2:17 – “Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.” Sacrifices are things we give up. Service is something we do for one another and for those outside Christ. We cannot engage in a faith that sacrifices and serves without doing something. A faith without sacrifice and service would be a faith that is missing these works.
D. James wrote in James 2:14 - “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?” That was a rhetorical question which had the implied answer of no…it cannot.

1. It is not possible for faith alone to be a sacrifice and a service. It is not possible for faith to be a sacrifice and a service without works. The work of faith therefore, includes the work of sacrifice and service.
2. That being said, this work of faith is not a merit of salvation. It doesn't pay for it. It cannot add anything to what God has done for us. It cannot save us apart from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In these ways, our work of faith through sacrifice and service cannot save us.

E. The work of faith is a walk. 2 Corinthians 5:7: “For we walk by faith, not by sight”.

1. Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
2. Colossians 2:6 reads “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,”
3. The work of faith includes a walk. A walk is a way of life. It's the way our life is lived. It is not possible to walk a way of life without engaging in a work. Our work of faith must include our walk, our way of life. This work of faith is not meritorious. It cannot get us into heaven apart from Jesus Christ, nor can it make His sacrifice for us unnecessary. These are ways in which our walk of faith cannot save us. However this does not mean that our walk of faith is not necessary.
4. James wrote in James 2:17 – “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James says that faith without works is alone and dead. James made it clear in verse 14 that a claim of faith without works does not profit us, save us.

F. The work of faith is a trial. James 1:7 – “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” [KJV]

1. A trial is a test of faith, patience or stamina through subjection to suffering or temptation. We cannot endure the trial of faith without doing something. James wrote in 2:18 – “But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works.'' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”[NKJV] . We show our faith to others when we endure the trials of our faith and overcome suffering and temptation.
2. The trial of our faith cannot pay for our salvation. The trial of our faith cannot get us into a home in heaven apart from God's grace. We don't deserve God's grace when we work the trial of our faith. These are ways in which our work of faith cannot save us. It does not mean that our trial of faith is not necessary.

G. The work of faith is a fight. First Timothy 6:12 – “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” Fighting requires defensive and offensive actions. We have to defend the truth and carry God's word to the lost. One cannot engage in a fight without doing something. Fighting the good fight of faith requires action.

1. James wrote in 2:19-20 – “thou believest that there is one God. Thou doest well. The devils also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”[KJV] James declared that a faith with no works is a dead faith. A dead faith cannot produce a living soul.
2. Fighting the good fight of faith is a work. Does this work of faith merit God's salvation? No. Will this work of faith make Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our sins unnecessary? No. Will it make it unnecessary for Christ to die for our sins? No way. These are ways in which our fight of faith cannot save us.

H. Biblical Faith is a Shield, faith is a sacrifice, a service, a walk, a trial, a fight, and therefore faith must be a work. Yet, works cannot earn or merit of salvation. But we can't be saved without them, for Jesus declared in Matthew 7:21 – “Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Since we cannot get into the kingdom of heaven without doing His will, then we know we can't get there without works.

III. Works cannot compel God to offer man a means of reconciliation, but we cannot be reconciled without them.

A. Paul wrote in Titus 3:5 – “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,” God implemented the plan of redemption all on His own, without any help or motivation from us. Works cannot place us in a position where we can boast of our salvation. We can never do enough. We can never be good enough that we can be boastful.

1. Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Notice that grace is the gift of God. That's everything that God did for us. It is a gift of God; it is not because of our works, not because anything we did, so we can not boast.
2. Works cannot replace Jesus on the cross, but we can’t be saved without them. Works cannot bypass Jesus to gain access the Father but we can’t access Him without them.

B. 1 Corinthians 6:20 – “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.” The price that was paid for us has nothing whatsoever to do with our works. Works cannot repay that debt, and we certainly cannot be saved without them.
C. We cannot be saved without the faith response. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:8-9 – “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,”.

1. God's grace was given to us through Christ Jesus. That decision was made before time began. Nothing we can possibly do can change that, add to it or take away from it. That does not mean that works, i.e. obedience to God is not necessary.
2. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 – “and to give you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,”
3. We cannot obey the gospel without working. It is just not possible. Those who fail to obey will be punished forever. Faith without obedience leads to destruction. Faith without works is dead.
4. Again in James 2:20-22 – “ But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?”

IV. We have looked at a lot of things that works cannot do. What can they do? Let's look at some things that the word of God says that works can do.

A. The work of obeying Jesus will make us wise. Matthew 7:24 – “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:”

1. On the other hand failing to obey Jesus makes us foolish. In that same context, starting in verse 26 – “Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:”
2. You all know how this ends, the house on a solid foundation withstood the storms but the house on sand, did not.

B. Works of obedience to God demonstrate our love for Him.

1. John 14:23-24 – “Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”
2. Works of disobedience to God demonstrate that we do not love God: “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.”

C. Those who work the works of righteousness are accepted by God. Acts 10:35 – “But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”
D. Works of obedience makes us servants of righteousness. Romans 6:16 – “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?”

1. Works of righteousness make us righteous. 1 John 3:7 – “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.”
2. Failure to work these works of righteousness results in our not being of God. 1 John 3:10—same context. “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.”
3. If we fail to work obedience to God's commands and claim that we know him, we are liars. 1 John 2:4 – “He who says, "I know Him,'' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
4. Those who do work obedience to God's commandments are in God, and also have God perfected within them. First John 2:5 – “But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” It's our works of obedience, keeping the Word, which perfects the love of God within us. By this same thing is how we know that we are in Him.
5. Those who work obedience have purified their souls. First Peter 1:22 – “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,”
6. Works of obedience will help us seek for glory and honor and immortality. In speaking of God, Paul writes in Romans 2:6-7 – “who "will render to each one according to his deeds'': eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality;”.

E. Those are some of the things that works will achieve.

CONCLUSION:
Those who do good will be resurrected to eternal life, while those who do evil will be resurrected to condemnation. Obedience to Jesus Christ results in Him being the author of our eternal salvation. The Hebrew writer, speaking of Jesus, writes in Hebrews 5:9 – “And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,”.

Scripture shows us over and over again; “Good works results in good things. Bad works results in bad things”. But one thing we must never forget is that no matter what good that we may do in life, our works neither promotes or compels God to offer us salvation. Neither can they pay for it. They cannot earn it. No matter what good we may do, we don't deserve it. We can't work our way to heaven without Christ.
We can't work enough to get around the need for His death on the cross, the shedding of His blood. Those are the things that works can never do, and we must always keep that in mind. We can never work enough to gain an eternal inheritance in heaven apart from God's grace and our faith.

On the other side of the coin, we also can't get to heaven without works. If we want to be saved, we're going to have to work for something we can never earn, never pay for, never merit, never deserve and never get… apart from God's grace.

Jesus said in John 6:27 – “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” He said to labor. You can't labor without working.
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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God, and be baptized for the remission of our sins… If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.

If anybody needs to respond, either to dedicate themselves to Christ, be buried with Him in baptism, and become a part of the work He has for us; or if you need to ask for prayers on your behalf, won’t you come forward as we stand and sing our Invitational song.

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Reference Sermon by: David Hersey

Take Up Your Mat and Walk

John 5:1-14

As we look at our world today, we realize that many people carry incredible burdens. Hearts are broken from disappointments and betrayal. Stress, loneliness, and anxiety are rampant. Addiction to alcohol and drugs is at an all-time high.

Something is desperately wrong, and the term that comes to mind when I try to describe it is "dis-ease." Not disease, but "dis-ease," meaning "without ease," without peace - mentally, emotionally, spiritually and even physically.

Even people who are supposed to have their act together are dis-eased. You see, we’re not perfect. In some ways we're all dis-eased. And some are here hoping to hear something to bring about the healing of their dis-ease.

If that describes you – I have good news and, maybe, bad news. The good news is that, on many occasions in His earthly ministry, Jesus sought out broken, messed-up, dis-eased men and women and healed them.

But the bad news - maybe - is that Jesus didn't always do things the way people expected Him to, including healing. Sometimes Jesus' healing was painful because it required people to face truth about themselves that people just don't like to face.

This morning we're going to look at one of those kinds of healings because I think the lessons we will learn from it can be of help to us today.

QUESTIONS THAT ARISE

Our scripture text is John 5:1-14, and it talks about Jesus healing a man who had been an invalid for a long time. And as we look at it, I want us to consider some questions that arise.

verses 2 and 3 of our text tell us, “2Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, [a]Bethesda, having five porches. 

3In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, [b]paralyzed, [c]waiting for the moving of the water.

Question #1 – “Why are these people here? What are they hoping to find at this pool?”

Vs’s 5 and 6 tell us, “5Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

Question #2 – “Why would Jesus ask him that?” It seems like a strange question to ask an invalid.

But it gets even stranger because the sick man answered in verse 7, “The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me..”

Did you notice? Jesus asks him if he wants to get well and the man doesn't answer the question! Instead, he complains about having no one to help him get into the water.

Notice Jesus' response. Jesus ignored his complaint. Instead, “Jesus said to him in verses 8 and 9, ‘“Rise, take up your bed and walk.” 9And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.

And that day was the Sabbath.

Thirty-eight years of helplessness gone just like that –

and after only 8 words from Jesus' mouth!

But 4 of those words - "Pick up your mat" - are puzzling.

I mean, is one extra mat left lying on the porch among so many sick people important?

“Why did Jesus tell him to pick up his mat?”

That's Question #3.

Let's continue. Vs’s 9-10 tell us, “10The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.”

11He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’ ”

That's because, in their opinion, carrying a mat was work and God had commanded "no work" on the Sabbath.

“But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.’ So they asked him, ‘Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?’

Verse 13 13But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. 

Now, isn't that kind of odd, also?

The man who was healed had no idea who had done it.

He didn't even know Jesus' name.

But Jesus knew him. From the hundreds of men and women in need of healing, Jesus had singled him out.

Question #4 – “Why? What was so special about this man?”

Listen to vs. 14, “Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, ‘See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.’”

Oh! Jesus did know him well enough to seek him out a second time and give him a very stern warning. It's almost like there's some unfinished business that Jesus needs to take care of in this miracle of healing.

Question #5 – “Why did Jesus deliver such a warning to this man?”

Ok, let's summarize where we are. There are a lot of sick people lying on 5 covered walkways that overlook a pool, and we want to know why they are there.

Jesus comes to just one man - and we want to know why this man - and asks him what seems to be a ridiculous question: "Do you want to get well" - and we want to know why He asked that question.

Then, after a strange dialogue in which the man complains and Jesus just ignores his complaint, the man is healed.

Jesus tells him to get up and walk, and to take his bed with him - and we want to know why.

Finally, after the fuss from the religious authorities dies down, Jesus finds him one more time to deliver a warning - and we want to know why Jesus did that.

By the way, just a tip here on studying the Bible. When you read a passage and things strike you as a little odd, it's good to ask these kinds of questions. More often than not, the really important lessons are found in the answers.

LESSONS TO LEARN

And I believe that's true in this case, too.

There are lessons to learn about healing and wellness that come from God. So, let's work back through these questions and see what the answers teach us.

Let's start with the last question first.

“What's the significance of Jesus seeking out the man after the healing and warning him, ‘Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you’?”

By the way, do you realize that in all the miracles of healing that Jesus did, I believe that this is the only one where Jesus warns the one who was healed to stop sinning?

I think there's only one answer that makes sense, and it helps us understand what may have been this man's trouble all along. he

Was he involved in some sin that had at least a part in causing him to lie helpless for 38 years?

We don't know what kind of sin it was. But the lessons we need to learn are clear.

Lesson #1. Sin can cause much of our "dis-ease" - mentally, emotionally, and even physically.

Now, obviously, there are other reasons for actual disease that range anywhere from germs to genetics.

But sometimes dis-ease is caused by sin.

In fact, there is an area of medical science that has been developed in the past 40 years that seems to support this idea. It's called Psycho-neuro-immunology or "PNI" for short. The basic idea is that the ways people think, feel, and behave can have profound effects on the body, including its ability to fight disease.

And the Bible states this principle in Galatians 6:7-8.

 “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.

 A man reaps what he sows.

The one who sows to please his sinful nature (i.e. - the one who thinks he can ignore what God says about right and wrong),

"from that nature will reap destruction (i.e. - injury, hurt, damage, heartache, sorrow and/or death);

The one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life (and that includes peace, love, joy, good things that keep us whole).”

Let me ask, “Are you doing what you know in your heart you shouldn't be doing - and could that be a source of the dis-ease in your life?”

I can't answer that question, but God can.

If you're struggling, it would be worth asking God if your sin is the cause of dis-ease in your life - just as it was for the man who was lying there at the pool.

That brings us to another question we brought up earlier:

 “Why are all these people here?”

Very simply, in that day people believed that, on occasion, an angel would come and stir the water, and that the first one into the pool after that happened would be healed.

Bible scholars describe the typical scene this way:

"Suddenly, the waters of the pool begin to bubble… and chaos breaks out. Every ailing person there is in competition with the rest of the multitude who are also hoping for a healing.

“Can you imagine the pushing, shoving, and tripping that takes place? What a pathetic sight, to see people crawling, hopping, rolling, clawing their way to the water's edge. What chaos there would be!

"And even if one person was healed…

it would not be the most disabled person because one with the least disability would be most likely to reach the pool first."

That's the situation this man found himself in time and time again. Whenever the water stirred, someone else always got in ahead of him.

Can you see his hopelessness?

1st of all, his problem was probably a personally INWARD problem.

2nd, his solution for healing didn't really work .

3rd, he would never be the first one into the water, anyway.

That's Lesson #2. Our solutions for "healing" don't work.

In one sense, a lot of us do exactly what he was doing.

Not only do we overlook the possibility that sin might be the cause, we try to figure out our own system to get relief.

For instance, at some point in many marriages, couples begin to sense a "dis-ease" in their relationship.

So, to find relief, some people have never felt good about who they are, so they try to build a system to prop themselves up. They work like crazy to make themselves "successful."

Or they pursue making money passionately, only to discover, as the Bible says, that kind of love is the root of all sorts of evil.

Do you see the point?

Our solutions for healing often turn out to be more pathetic than the dis-ease. And that was certainly true of this man!

That's why Jesus ignored his complaint.

Jesus didn't say, "Don't worry, I'll help you get into the pool first the next time the water is stirred up."

He didn't say that because Jesus isn't interested in endorsing our faulty solutions.

He'd rather shoot straight with us just like he did with this man: "Look, do you want to lie here for the rest of your life? Or, do you want to get well? If you want to get well, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’"

That's Lesson #3. Only Christ has the cure for the dis-ease of sin. What we need to cure the mental, emotional and sometimes physical symptoms that drag so many down is forgiveness of sin and freedom from it's power that's offered in Christ.

How do we get that?

We do exactly what the man at the pool did.

We take Jesus at His word. He says, "Get up! Pick up your mat, and walk" and we do it.

We put our faith in Him.

Today we can take all of our sin - past, present and future - and give it to Him.

"Jesus, I confess that I'm a sinner. I believe that you died for me - to pay for my sin. I'm totally dependent on you." There is no other solution for our problems.

Lesson #4 - We must quit what we have been doing wrong!

This is what Jesus was implying when He told the man to “Pick up your mat.”

Remember he didn't just say, "Get up and walk."

He said, "Get up! Start walking and take your mat with you."

In other words, "Burn your bridges. Don't even think of going back. Get up and walk and take your mat with you."

In those words He is saying something very important to people who need to be healed of the dis-ease of sin:

"Give up your sin.

Pour out the alcohol! Get rid of the drugs!

Get rid of the pornography.

Say ‘No!’ to and GET RID OF the “so called” friends who lure you into evil."

 

THAT lesson is important and here's why:

Some have turned to Christ as their only hope for forgiveness, and their hearts were lifted for a time.

But they never really left their old life.

In effect, they just added Jesus in as one of many options for dealing with their dis-ease.

They admit, that He is  the best option …

but they still return to the old ways.

They take their mat and go back to the poolside.

And once again their hearts are filled with hopelessness,

just like they were before Christ healed them.

That's the final lesson in this story.

The "dis-ease" can return.

That's why Jesus went to the temple and said to the man,

"Look, you've been healed. But quit your sinning or your condition will be worse than it was before."

Jesus once explained it this way, in Matthew 12:43-45

"When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, 'I will return to the person I came from.'

"So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and clean. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.”

If we don't forsake our sin and allow ourselves to be filled with God's Spirit, we'll be empty and a prime target for evil to sink its teeth into us with even greater force.

I think that is what has happened to some people.

They were set free from sin's power and dominion when they came to Christ, but they allowed themselves to get a little too cozy with it and now they're overwhelmed once again.

Fortunately, healing is still available by coming back to Jesus, and heeding His words.

Now, let's bring this to a close. We've answered all of the questions that we raised earlier except for one:

 “Why did Jesus choose this particular individual instead of someone else?”

There's no answer for that one.

He just did.

And He offers this same invitation today.

Do you want to be well?

Do you want to have power to overcome the sin in your life?

 Do you want to find the peace and joy that Jesus offers?

You have to choose, just like this guy at the pool had to choose.

2 Chronicles 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 

Acts 3:19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 

Mark 16:16 tells us that Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

This morning will you choose to “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk”?

Sermon Contributor: Melvin Newland

God’s Grace and Our Faith

God’s Grace and Our Faith
Ephesians 2:8

INTRO: As you travel this road of life you will meet a lot of people who claim Jesus Christ as their savior. If you engage them in conversation about their beliefs, they have a notion that grace and faith are the tickets to heaven, and in a sense they are right.

Their understanding of just what grace and faith are, as comprehensive Biblical terms, is not always in line with reality however. They know that grace and faith are there, but they really don't have a clear understanding of just what grace and faith are and how each one of these functions in our justification and subsequent salvation.

We had a lesson a few weeks ago on what faith is. For the purpose of this lesson, I want to link these two vital and essential elements that play such an important role in our lives as Christians. We will try to gain a better understanding of them from an overall Biblical perspective.

I. First of all, what is Grace? I have found that many people have little idea what grace really is and how it functions in the life of a Christian.

A. You will find in discussing the topic that some people, especially those among our denominational neighbors, have the belief that God's grace is some kind of mystical, magical thing that transforms an all powerful, perfectly holy, just and omniscient God into Santa Clause.

1. You know, that red suited, jolly character that promises children a lump of coal if they haven't been good but when it is all said and done nice presents are received anyway. I did not deserve the nice things I received. I certainly did not earn them. Santa was under no obligation whatsoever to give them to me.
2. While there are some elements to this little illustration that parallel God's grace, we are overlooking one very important fact. When all the layers have been stripped away and get down to the facts, the Santa at Higbee’s downtown lied to me. I had not been a good little boy for the past year and I knew it. That Santa promised me something that he did not deliver. While that was perfectly fine with me at the time, the fact remains that Santa promised me a lump of coal, but I got candy, clothes and toys. Santa gave me grace, but Santa did not keep his word.

B. God is not Santa and most certainly Santa is not God. Inspiration teaches us in Titus 1:1-2 and other places in scripture that God cannot lie. “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which is according to godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,”

1. One thing that we can be absolutely sure of is that neither grace nor faith rightly applied in our lives will ever make God out to be a liar. God does not say things that He does not mean. God doesn't make promises that He does not keep.
2. Santa told me that a certain level or standard of good behavior was required in order to receive the good gifts. In other words, I was expected to obey my parents if I wanted the good stuff.

C. God certainly has grace, but unlike Santa, when God promises bad stuff for bad behavior, God is going to deliver bad stuff for bad behavior, no matter how much grace He has.

1. God's grace will not cause God to violate His honest nature or His principles. Second Timothy teaches us that God cannot deny His holy nature: 2 Timothy 2:11-13 - “This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” [NKJV]
2. We can be absolutely sure about this, God's grace will never cause God to act in a way that is in conflict with Himself or His standards. He is going to be faithful to His covenant even when we are not faithful to Him. In other words, God is going to keep His promises and do what He said He would do no matter what we do.

D. What is this grace that God has towards us? Someone who is gracious has certain qualities which stand out. Those who are gracious are benevolent, meaning they do things for others that they are not necessarily required to do. Those who are gracious are indulgent or beneficent to others, especially inferiors. Those who are gracious are merciful and compassionate. Does this sound like some of the qualities that our God possesses?

1. Romans 6:23 starts out saying, “For the wages of sin is death” That means eternal separation from God. Sin is a violation against God and causes mankind to lose fellowship with God. The only way man can regain that fellowship is if he pays the penalty for that sin. Man sinned, man incurred a debt. The problem is, the payment for all sin is loss of fellowship with God forever. It doesn't matter what that sin is, the penalty is the same. We have lost our fellowship with God and that cannot be restored unless we pay the penalty in full.
2. Thankfully for us, God is rich in grace and mercy and He doesn't want to see us suffer for all eternity. He wants us to have a chance to regain that fellowship, so He had a plan where we can have a hope of being reconciled without having to suffer an eternity of punishment.

E. God was under no obligation to do this. Nothing we did compelled God to do this. By the way, this means of reconciliation came at great personal expense for God…namely the life of His Son as a substitutionary death penalty for us.

1. God could have washed His hands of mankind and walked away to leave us to our fate forever. God would have been perfectly within His right to do so. He didn't owe us anything. We got ourselves into this predicament without any help from God. God was absolutely blameless in all that mankind did.
2. Because God loves us so much, He graciously came up with a means whereby we could be reconciled to Him and escape the death penalty of sin. That's grace. Grace as a comprehensive Biblical term which represents everything God did in securing a means of redemption for mankind.

a. For God to give man His law, is grace.
b. For God to let man know he sinned, is grace.
c. For God to provide a means of reconciliation through the sacrifice of His Son, is grace.
d. For God to accept the death of His Son at the hands of man for the sins of man, is grace.
e. For God to make this means of reconciliation known through His word, is grace.
f. For God to allow mankind time to respond, is grace.

3. The availability of salvation, under any circumstances whatsoever, is grace. All of the things God did in providing a way of redemption for mankind is Grace. Grace is God reaching down from heaven to sin-sick, doomed and fallen mankind with a means and method of reconciliation.

F. Grace is God's role in our redemption. Then are we saved by grace only? In other words, are we saved simply because God did everything that He did with no response on our part? Absolutely not. If we were saved by grace only, every human that ever lived would be saved simply by being in existence. Nobody would ever be lost if mankind was saved by grace only.

1. Mankind has an obligation to respond to God's grace before it will be of any benefit at all.
2. What is that response? Ephesians 2:8 starts: “For by grace you have been saved through faith…” Grace operates in our lives through our faith.

II. Since Grace represents God's role in our redemption, then what does the term "Faith" mean? Faith is the response that we must give in order to receive God's grace. "Without faith it is impossible to please Him… " (Hebrews 11:6). We are saved by Grace through faith. Without faith, grace is worthless to us. As we saw in our study of what faith is Hebrews 11:6 continues, “…for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. ”

A. We must have faith if God's grace is going to benefit us in any way whatsoever. What about Faith? Does this term "faith" simply mean belief in God or belief in Jesus Christ? Is faith alone all that is required or is there something else?

1. That's something we can put to the test very easily from scripture. When we read James 2:18-24 we see this, “18. But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works.'' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble! 20. But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21. Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22. Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23. And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.'' And he was called the friend of God. 24. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” [NKJV] Scripture clearly says here, “not by faith only”.
2. Many, many people try to claim that Paul taught salvation by faith alone. If that is the case, then what about what Paul wrote to in Romans 2:5-11? “5. But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6. who "will render to each one according to his deeds'': 7. eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good, seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8. but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 9. tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; 10. but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11. For there is no partiality with God.”
3. What about the Philippian Christians? Philippians 2:12-13, “ Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
4. “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling"... We see very easily that faith means more than faith alone. This is very important because there are vast numbers of people out there who believe that we can be saved by faith alone. When we get the opportunity we need to be able to show them in scripture that biblical faith is more than just belief.

B. Let's look at a few scriptures which help us to define what faith is as a comprehensive Biblical term.

1. Faith is our Shield: Ephesians 6:16 – “above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” We not only believe God exists, we know He is faithful and just to deliver on His promises.
2. Faith is service: Philippians 2:17 – “Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.” Paul's meaning is figurative, referring in humility to his service as the drink-offering which was added to the burnt offering. Paul was comparing all of his own toils to the drink offering (which was the tiniest part) to the main sacrifice.
3. Faith is a Sacrifice: Romans 12:1 – “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” The believer presents their body for baptism, being an important element in the new birth itself, and this accomplishes a sacrifice which requires the volition and assent of the whole person. But the presenting does not end at the baptistery. There is also the formal and faithful presentation of the body in public, corporate worship, regularly throughout the Christian's life. The body is the chief instrument of the person and is to be presented to God through service to humanity, by preaching, teaching, ministering, and helping people, and not merely for some space of time, but all your life.
4. Faith is Perseverance: Colossians 1:23 – “if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.” And 1 Thessalonians 3:7-8 – “therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress we were comforted concerning you by your faith. For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.” “This is another of innumerable denials in the New Testament of the monstrous proposition euphemistically described as the "final perseverance of the saints."” “God has written that chilling word "IF" by every name inscribed in the Lamb's Book of Life.” (James Coffman)
5. Faith is a Walk: We see this in 2 Corinthians 5:7 – “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” In Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” And Colossians 2:6 – “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,”
6. Faith is a Work: Paul wrote to the Church at Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 1:3 – “Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,” And in 2 Thessalonians 1:11 – “Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power,”
7. Faith is a Fight: Look at 1 Timothy 6:12 – “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” The New Testament makes very clear that fidelity on the part of Christians is required of them if they truly hope to enter heaven at last.
8. Faith is a trial: In 1 Peter 1:7 – “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” [KJV] This is not comparing faith with gold but an analogy between the testing of character (i.e. faith) and the refining of gold.
9. Faith is Patient: Hebrews 6:12 – “That you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

C. It's God's grace, and our faith. God's grace represents everything He did to make salvation available for mankind. Our faith is the response we must make in order to receive God's grace. By grace we are saved through faith. The grace that saves us is God's. The faith that saves us is ours.

D. We all join together in our hope for eternal life. We are here today because we want to worship God and to live with Him in heaven after this life is over. Jesus said in John 5:28-29 – “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” Paul reminds us of this in 2 Corinthians 5:10 – “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

1. There is a day coming when every single one of us is going to face God and give an account of the life we have lived. Based upon the life we lived, we will either live in heaven with God forever, or we will suffer in Hell for eternity. Those are our options. In the end it will be the life of faith we live that will make the difference.
2. John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." We absolutely have to believe and have faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. As we have seen, there is more to it than just faith only. Our faith must be an obedient one if it is to be the proper response to God's grace.
3. Jesus declared in Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." God's grace and our faith will not get us into the kingdom of heaven if we fail to do the will of God.
4. Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 – “and to you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” God's grace and our faith will not save us if we fail to obey the Gospel.

III. How do we obey the gospel? We obey the gospel by becoming participants in it. We saw in our look at faith last time that this was one of the conditions of salvation to be obeyed but there are more conditions.

A. Repentance: Jesus said in Luke 13:3 – “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” If we do not repent, Jesus says we will perish and He's talking about eternal punishment here. Repentance is a sorrow of heart that leads one to a change in behavior. We must stop living for the world and start living in accordance with God's will. Those who do not change their behavior did not repent. God's grace and Our Faith will not save us if we fail to repent. Our faith must include repentance.
B. Confession: Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-33 – “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” God's grace and our faith will not save us from being denied by Jesus if we fail to confess Him before men. We have to become participants in the command to acknowledge our faith to others. Our faith must include confession.
C. Baptism: Jesus taught in Mark 16:16 – “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” He also said in John 3:5 – “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Baptism is a very important step in the salvation process.
D. When we look in scripture for a clear and concise description of just what the gospel is, we find 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, where Paul wrote: “1. Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2. by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you unless you believed in vain. 3. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4. and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,” Simply put, Paul declared that the gospel is summed up in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
E. How do we today participate in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Paul tells us how, starting in Romans 6:3 – “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” When we obey the gospel we become participants in the death of Christ at baptism.

1. Continuing in Romans 6:4 – “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death… ” We obey the gospel when we become participants in the burial of Christ, through baptism when we are buried/immersed in water. “that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
2. We become participants in the resurrection of Jesus Christ when we arise from the watery grave of baptism to walk in our new life. Jesus was raised from the dead to a new life. When we arise from the waters of baptism, we arise to a new life. That new life is the life born of Spirit and water that Jesus taught. Through baptism we obey the gospel by becoming participants in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
3. God's grace and our faith will not get us in to the kingdom of God if we fail to be born again in the waters of baptism. Our faith must include baptism.

F. Faithful living: Jesus said in Matthew 10:22, “And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.” and in Revelation 2:10, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” God's grace and our faith will not get us a crown of life if we fail to be faithful. Our faith must include being faithful and enduring to the end.

CONCLUSION: Grace is God reaching down to the lost from heaven with a chance for eternal life. Faith is man reaching upward to God in hope of that salvation. The source of our salvation is not our work or activity, but a work that has been done by someone else—Jesus. To be saved we must accept and rely upon what has been done for us. This act of relying on Jesus and His work is the very essence of faith. Grace won't save without faith and faith can't save without grace. It's God's grace and our faith. We can't have one without the other. Faith is our response to the grace offered.
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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God, and be baptized for the remission of our sins… If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.

If anybody needs to respond, either to dedicate themselves to Christ, be buried with Him in baptism, and become a part of the work He has for us; or if you need to ask for prayers on your behalf, won’t you come forward as we stand and sing our Invitational song.

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Reference Sermon by: David Hersey

Living By Faith

Hebrews 11:8-19

God …our Father …has made all things depend on faith
so that whoever has faith will have everything,
and whoever does not have faith will have nothing.

OPEN: A man once told a story about his 84 year old grandmother. Apparently, she fiercely maintained her independence and lived alone in the old family home. Her 4 children lived in the same town, but she rarely called them except in emergencies. It was with some apprehension, therefore, that the grandson drove to her house one morning in answer to her phone call. When he arrived, his grandma said she suspected that there was a burglar in her bedroom closet, since she had heard noises in there the night before.
"Why didn’t you call me last night?" the man exclaimed.
"Well," she replied, "it was late and I hated to bother you, so I just nailed the closet shut and went to bed."

That’s an example of the type of faith we read about in the 11th chapter of Hebrews . A faith, that nails the doors of doubt shut and then calmly leaves the rest to God. That’s the kind of faith that God tells us Abraham had, and it so impressed God that Abraham earned the title: Mentioned in Romans 4:11“The father of all who believe”

in Hebrews 11, we’re repeatedly told why Abraham was so highly regarded by God:
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude,
and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

He believed in an inheritance, he himself never received.
He believed in a child he was too old to father.
And when asked to sacrifice this son as an offering, Abraham believed God could and would raise that boy from the dead.
That’s pretty impressive stuff.

In fact, these reports about Abraham are so impressive that we might find it difficult to relate to him. We might be excused if we said: “well, it was easy for Abraham … he was DIFFERENT than me. I could never BELIEVE like that! I struggle too much with doubt!”
(pause) God knew that. He knew we find it hard to relate to a “super-hero” of faith – this Abraham.
And so God told us a few things about this man, this Abraham, that Abraham might have preferred God had not revealed.

For example:
* God told Abraham in Genesis 12:1 to "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.”

Notice the part that says “leave your father’s household?”
Well, Abraham didn’t quite fully obey that part of the command. He took his nephew Lot along with him.
Granted it was a “little” disobedience… but this little disobedience resulted in family conflicts all along the way. Conflicts between Lot’s sheepherders and Abraham’s.

It got so bad that the time came that Abraham attempted to settle the matter by giving Lot a choice of pasture land.
Lot, you take one way and I’ll that another. So Lot chose the green grass close by Sodom… and of course, you know the rest of the story.

* Then there was the promise God made that Abraham would have a son. Now, Abraham may have believed that, but he had a hard time convincing his wife Sarah. After all, they were both getting on in years. And so Sarah talked Abram into observing a quaint custom of the day. She asked him to have a child by her handmaid – Hagar. The resulting offspring was Ishmael and before long his presence brought conflict and strife to Abraham’s home.

Eventually Hagar and Ishmael’s were asked to leave, and the boy grew into a man who became the father of many nations… nations whose descendants have been enemies of the Jews from the days of Moses until this very day.
* And of course, no story of Abraham would be complete without the tale about the time he passed his wife off as his sister.

Genesis 12:11-13 tells us “As he was about to enter Egypt,
he said to his wife Sarah, ‘I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live.
Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.’”

God was not pleased with Abraham’s decision and made it clear that He wasn’t pleased. But Abraham didn’t do this just once… he did it twice: once in Egypt, and later in the city of Gerar

WHY?
Why would this great man of faith try to pass his wife off as his sister?
Because he was afraid!!!
The man who would be called the “father of all those who believe” was so scared that he was willing to give up his wife in order to live!

That’s all very embarrassing.
Why would God tell us all those embarrassing stories about Abraham?

God told us those stories so that you & I would realize that this great man wasn’t that much different than you and I.
Abraham made mistakes
He struggled with his faith
He stumbled in his obedience
He sometimes floundered in the darkness of uncertainty.
In short… he was just like you and me.

BUT, how then could God call Abraham a man of “faith?” – the father of all who believe?
How could this man who obviously disappointed God on a number of occasions,
who obviously fell short of being the giant WE would expect him to be,
who obviously made mistakes,
and whose mistakes produced many problems for God’s people later on…
How could this man, be such a great example of faith?
ILLUS: Years ago, when John D. Rockefeller was running a gigantic empire known as the “Standard Oil Company,”
one of the employees made a disastrous decision that cost the company more than $2 million.
Fear swept through the company as everyone expected Rockefeller not only to fire the man responsible - but take out his wrath on them as well.

Edward T. Bedford, a partner in the company, was scheduled to see Rockefeller that day and as he entered he saw the this powerful man bent over his desk/ busily writing (with a pencil) on a pad of paper.

Bedford stood silently, not wishing to interrupt.
After a few minutes, Rockefeller looked up.
"Oh, it’s you, Bedford," he said calmly. "I suppose you’ve heard about our loss?"
Bedford said that he had.

"I’ve been thinking it over," Rockefeller said, "and before I ask the man in to discuss the matter, I’ve been making some notes."
Bedford later told the story this way:
"Across the top of the page was written,
’Points in favor of Mr. ______.’ And there, underneath that title, was a long list of the man’s virtues, including a brief description of how he had helped the company make the right decision on 3 separate occasions.
Decisions that had earned the company many times the cost of his recent error.

That man kept his job, and Bedford left the meeting forever changed in how he viewed other employees of the company.
Now, why did I tell you that story?
I told you that story so you’d understand how God viewed Abraham… and how He views us:
Yes, Abraham made mistakes
Yes, Abraham failed God on a number of occasions
Yes, Abraham had a past filled with miserable disappointments…
BUT God didn’t look at Abraham to see his past,
God looked at Abraham, to see his potential.
He looked him to see his possibilities.
You see, nobody is ever 100% sinless and pure.
Every one of us is going to stumble somewhere along the path… just like Abraham did.

But, there was something distinctly different about Abraham. Something that made him stand out above all those who lived around him in his day.
Something that made God pick him from among thousands of others, to be the father of a great nation and the father of all those who believe.
What could that have been?

Abraham BELIEVED God.
He may not have believed perfectly, but he believed God.
AND he didn’t just believe that God existed…
He believed God would reward him if he earnestly sought Him.

As Hebrews 11 tells us… “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Notice what it tells us about why Abraham acted “by faith…”
* In verse 8 we’re told “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.”
Why would he do that?

Because in verse 10 we read that “…he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
In other words, Abraham didn’t care where he went – as long as it was with God!

He didn’t care where he lived
He didn’t care that his home was nothing but a tent.
He didn’t care that he never owned any land except the land where he buried his wife
ALL Abraham cared was – would God be there.
How did he know that would happen?
God had made a promise!

* In verse 11 we’re told “By faith Abraham,
even though he was past age— and Sarah herself was barren— was enabled to become a father…”
Why would Abraham believe that?
“…because he considered Him faithful who had made the promise.”

In other words – Abraham never doubted he’d have a son.
WHY?
Because God had made the promise.
And even if it didn’t make any sense that an old man like him with an elderly wife like Sarah could have children – it didn’t matter. God had made a promise.

* In verses 17 & 18 we’re told “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.
He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”

Why on earth would Abraham be willing to do that?
Because “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead.” Verse 19
Had Abraham ever seen the dead raised before? NO!
Had God promised that Isaac would be raised up from the dead? NO!
THEN why would Abraham reason this way?
Because God had made a promise – Isaac was going to be THE SON from whom a great nation would rise.

It didn’t make any difference that Abraham had never seen the dead raised, God had made a promise –
and it was up to God to figure out how Isaac could be offered as a sacrifice on some lonely hill and still become the father of many people.
God had made a promise!

There’s a lot of talk about “blind faith.”
Abraham is the ultimate example of blind faith
He left his home and obeyed God, even when he didn’t know where he was going

He believed he could have a son even when it defied all known reality
AND he believed God could raise the dead even tho’ he’d never seen it done before
That’s about as close as you get to “blind faith.”

My point is this. There will come a time when that’s all you’re going to have – blind faith.
All the circumstance and all the facts and all the human reasoning around you will tell you that God can’t possibly do what He has promised.
And you’ll be left with “blind faith – just like Abraham.
And you’ll have to make a choice.

Do you believe God, or do you believe what you can see, handle and measure?
That’s precisely why God made Abraham the poster child of kind of faith.
Abraham’s faith was the kind that took all uncertainties of his life and placed them to one side of the scales… and then, on the other side, he put, simply and solely--GOD.

Worries SCALE
Cares
Uncertainties GOD___
One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof.
The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I'll catch you."
He knew the boy had to jump to save his life.

All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof.
His father kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you."
But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can't see you."
The father replied, "But I can see you and that's all that matters."

Abraham may not have been able to see how it would all turn out, but he trusted His father’s voice.

Was It Worth It?

Hebrews 11:32 – 12:3

There is a bumper sticker that sums up life on earth like this:
“Many who seek God at the 11th hour of their life… Die at 10:30!”

We often hear the question… “Was It Worth It?”
We can ask Adam & Eve as we read Genesis 2: 8 – 9
8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Then verses 15-17: 15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
And finally Genesis 3: 2 – 6 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

We can ask Noah in Genesis 6: 5 – 7
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
7 So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

How devastating it would be to have our own earthly father say to us that he regrets that we were even born.

And then in Genesis 7:19 – 22 we read
17 Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit[a] of life, all that was on the dry land, died.

Or, what about Job?
Or what does Jesus tells us in Matthew 5: 3 - 12?
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

"It WILL ALL BE WORTH it all when we see Jesus,

Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ."

Some of the Jewish Christians… to whom the letter of Hebrews was written… were not sure that it was really worth it all to continue following Jesus.

As Jews… they had endured cruel persecutions at the hands of both the Syrians & the Romans.
But after they had become Christians, the persecutions were even worse than before. Not only were they being persecuted by the Romans,
but now as Christians, they were also being persecuted by the Jews themselves.

So, all through the letter of Hebrews, the author seeks to encourage them - to help them understand that being a Christian is really worth it all.
He reminds them that those who have been faithful to God have always faced persecution, but that the end result will be a glorious victory even beyond their imagination.

In Hebrews 11:32 – 34… WHICH IS WHAT WE ARE CURRENTLY DISCUSSING IN OUR SUNDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY … the writer tells us these words,
"What more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised;

"who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength;
and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

and then He continues with these inspired words in vs's 36-38, "Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword.
"They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated - the world was not worthy of them."

Then in the next few verses he tells them to do 3 simple things.

#1, Remember your heritage;
#2, Throw off everything that hinders;
& #3, Fix your eyes on Jesus.

Listen as we go on to chapter 12, vs's 1, 2, & 3.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
"Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

What a heritage is ours - not only all the heroes of our faith –
but the Angels and Jesus himself!

I. REMEMBER YOUR HERITAGE
Paul tells them that it is important for them to remain faithful because of the example,
the witness of all who have gone before.
And he portrays it like they are in a race,
& the stands are filled with those who have not only have already run the race but who have also won the victory.
For some of us today that is a very good motivation,
because, like it or not, we realize that we are being watched.

ILL. I remember a time when many of my family members rented several cabins in Gatlinburg Tennessee for a vacation. And, of course, we took lots of pictures.
On the last day together we decided they wanted a picture with all of us in it.
But who would take the picture?
Well, one of us had a camera with a delay system where one person could push the button & still have time to run back & get in the picture before the camera shutter clicked.

So that is what we used. And here we are, all 23 of us standing with ours arms around each other, with smiles frozen on our faces - waiting for the camera to click.
A few moments passed & then someone muttered, "I didn't hear it click.
Did you hear it click?"

So, there we stood, not daring to move, but becoming acutely aware that people walking by,
who couldn't see the camera,
were staring at us, evidently wondering what in the world we were doing.
All they saw was 23 people with their arms around each other, standing absolutely still & grinning.

Well, why do we care what people think about us, & the way we look? What is it about us that wants people to be concerned about who we are & what we do?

I realize there are some who proclaim, "I don't care what anybody thinks or says about me!" But deep down, most of us do care, & we want to be respected & appreciated.

when the author speaks about a great "cloud of witnesses",
I believe he is saying that there is a great host of people who have already experienced even worse trials & temptations than we will ever face, & they overcame them.
They remained faithful in spite of it all.

And that if we are faithful
we can win the victory, too!

However, we must recognize that people around us - our family, our friends, neighbors & co-workers are watching us, how we live, what we say & what we do –
maybe even more than we realize. And what are they seeing?

ILL. Do you remember the murder trial of Sherri Wolfe?
Her ex husband had complained repeatedly to his lawyer about the way she was treating him when he tried to exercise his visitation rights with their children.

Finally, the lawyer suggested that he hide a recording device under his shirt & just before going into his ex wife's home that he start the recorder so that they would have proof that he was being berated & abused when he went to pick up his children.

Little did he know that was the day they planned to murder him.
Before entering the house he switched on the recorder, & went in & sat down on the couch.
When he did, Mrs. Wolfe's new husband & another relative attacked him from behind & repeatedly beat him over the head with an iron bar.

On the recording you can hear the sounds of the blows striking his head, & his groans as he died.
The District Attorney, when he addressed the jury, said,
"Ladies & gentlemen of the jury.
Sherri Wolfe is convicted by her own silence on this recording.
The whole time her ex-husband was being beaten she said nothing."
Now he was dead. But even though he was dead,
through the recording he was a witness at his ex-wife's murder trial.
And all throughout our lives we are being a witness, too!

II. THROW OFF EVERYTHING THAT HINDERS
If we were to read all of the 11th chapter of Hebrews telling about some of the great heroes of the faith,
most of us would be inspired - challenged to get in there & run the race with them. But that doesn't guarantee that we will actually do it.
Most of us in our hearts, really want to run our race well, don't we? Those who have gone before us have passed the torch & given us a heritage & a faith to carry on.
Hymn #222
1. Faith of our fathers, living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire, and sword;
Oh, how our hearts beat high with joy
Whene’er we hear that glorious Word!
o Refrain:
Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.
4. Faith of our fathers, we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife;
And preach thee, too, as love knows how
By kindly words and virtuous life.

But sometimes there are things in our life that hinder us from doing it.
And in this passage the Apostle Paul pinpoints 2 of them.
A. He says, 1st of all, that we need to "throw off everything that hinders." Or as another Bible translation puts it to "lay aside every weight."

B. And, there is a 2nd thing that he tells us to get rid of "the sin that so easily entangles…"
ILL. There is a troubling passage of scripture about Judas.
John 12:6 says that while Judas was one of the 12
he served as their treasurer & was stealing from them.

Evidently it was something that he did more than once.
Finally, the time came when Judas found himself with a perfect opportunity to betray Jesus for money. And at that point the Bible says that Satan "entered Judas."

I wonder how many people today find themselves entangled & are thinking, "Well, that's just the way I am. I can't change. And after all, a lot of other people are just like me."
Don't go down that path! Throw off everything that hinders, & fix your eyes on Jesus!

III. FIX YOUR EYES ON JESUS
ILL. Do you remember being young & having your mother say to you, "Look at me when I'm talking to you." But you didn't want to because you knew you were in the wrong.

I wonder if sometimes Jesus is speaking to us & saying, "Would you look at me for a change? You would get in a lot less trouble, & be able to run the race successfully, if you would just fix your eyes on me."

ILL. There is a story told of a student who was stopped by a highway patrolman for speeding. The officer told him, "I'll give you a choice. You can either take this ticket & appear in court,
or you can look at a picture album that I have in my patrol car."

The student happily replied, "I'll look at the picture album."
So they went back to the patrol car, & the officer got out an album full of pictures of automobile accidents, & showed those pictures to him one by one.

The student later said, "I wish I had taken the ticket."
Do you know why? Because when we look at the results of our mistakes, we generally don't like what we see.
And that young man was shaken by what he saw.

That is why we need to fix our eyes on Jesus, & remember the price He paid for our sin & the love of God that sent Jesus to save us from our sins.
And one day - "It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ."

Invitation