Draft 9

TRUTHS THAT TRANSFORM
2/27/05; TSL #9 – John 17:17; Gateway Sermon Notes


INTEREST


(Illustration: Spiritual Growth, General) Leo Tolstoy was a tortured Christian. He was a 19th century Russian novelist, and one of the greatest writers of all time. He authored War and Peace (a standard text in world literature) and Anna Karenina (perhaps the greatest romantic novel ever written). He was a devoted Christian, and it was told by Malcolm Muggeridge that Tolstoy’s writing were so laced with Gospel truth that his books caused a spiritual revival among intellectuals in the Soviet Union during the 1970s. But he was a miserable man. Philip Yancey, a contemporary Christian writer describes him (quote The Jesus I Never Knew, pages 137-138). What Tolstoy saw was God’s Ideal Standard, but what he didn’t understand was the Grace of God and the Enablement of God. As a result he wrestled and agonized his entire life over measuring up to what God wanted. For him life was bitter, harsh, and severe.

Tolstoy is an example of the need for Christians to have a complete and balanced view of the Word of God. To have a partial or imbalanced view of the Christian life is to risk and imbalanced and miserable life. This is one of the reasons why we are pursuing our study of the Christian life, or experiential sanctification. How is the Christian life to be lived, and what are the basic truths upon which we live this life?


ORIENTATION


For several weeks now we have considered the subject of living the abundant Christian life, or specifically experiential sanctification.

We have seen that this life is both possible and powerful, that we were designed for it, and that although the design was marred by sin God brought greater glory to Himself by making a way for us to obtain it through a relationship with Christ. We also saw the essence of this new life in terms what it brings us in our day to day walk, a new pattern of life, a new disposition and attitude, a new ability to make decisions that are Godward in direction and character. And we found that although we have the promise of sanctification in this life it is imperfect, and that we still have times when we stumble and fall.

What we have considered up to this point is the divine side. That is, all God’s activity on our behalf in this new life. But what about the human side - a side not entirely human for even in our responsibility God enables us to do what He expects us to do to progress in our sanctification, even to the point of working with our will. How do we work with God in procuring spiritual growth? We spoke of spiritual habits – five specifically: learning and applying the Word, confessing and forsaking sin, practicing prayer and worship, engaging in a circle of fellowship, and serving in a ministry. In doing these things we facilitate the new life trend that we were given at the point of our salvation.

After designating these habits we went back to that first habit having to do with learning and applying the Word. We asked the question, what are the key truths in the Word that every growing believer should know? On one hand we have these habits that we should engage in, and while engaged we are to remember and rehearse these fundamental truths. We uncovered 15 of these and last time looked at the first 4. Let’s briefly survey the first 4 which we have already studied and then immerse ourselves into a few more.


REVIEW

I. Truth #1 Glory: God created man and the universe for His glory. Col 1:16; Ro 11:36

(Illustration: Purpose, General) Just as we would not expect a bird to dive under water and begin to swim and live under water, nor for a fish to suddenly take on wings and begin to soar through the air, neither is man expected to live apart from God. The template, the blueprints have been forever established – man is mad to live for the glory of God and to live any less than that is to live apart from the reason for which we were created. You were made for the glory of God.

II. Truth #2 Grace: God accomplished what I could never do for myself. Eph 2:1-9; Jn 1:12-13

(Illustration: Grace, General) At the College of Biblical Studies I teach a class called “Man, Sin and Salvation.” In the class we are now covering sin, and in particular the transmission of the inherited sin. Pelagianism holds that man is born neutral, like Adam, with an equal opportunity to do good or bad. The Arminianism position is that man is born corrupt, yet his will has the ability to cooperate with the grace of God. Neo-orthodoxy holds that there was no historical Adam and thus no transmission of inherited sin. But we hold to the Augustinian/Reformed, and I believe the biblical view. It holds that man is not born neutral, neither is he born with the capacity to decide, but rather he has complete inability. He is dead in mind, emotion and will. This is where the grace of God comes it. Our salvation is all of grace! It regenerated us from spiritual death, and now our lives should be expressions of our gratitude for all that grace has done for us.

III. Truth #3 Assurance: God guarantees my eternal security and pattern of sanctification. Jn 10:28; 2 Cor 3:18; Phil 1:6, 2:13; Eph 2:10

If glory is our purpose, and grace is the means, then assurance is our security. The grace that brought about our positional salvation is the grace that insures the pattern of our experiential sanctification. Some folks feel that they are saved by grace, but after that it is all effort and works. God works with our will to bring about our sanctification.

IV. Truth #4 Divine Character: God’s Person and attributes bring inner peace. Ex 3:14; Ps 27:1- 10

1. Eternal Ex 3:14
2. Sovereign Isa 46:9-10
3. Immutable Ja 1:17
4. Omniscient Ps 147:5
5. Omnipotent Heb 1:3
6. Omnipresent Ps 139:7-12
7. True Jn 14:6
8. Perfect Love Eph 1:4
9. Righteous Ps 11:7
10. Just Deut 32:4

(Illustration: God, General) There is a painting of a bird in a nest, in a tree on seashore, while a storm howls. The waves are crashing; the wind is blowing; as the bird burrows into the nest in the tree. The painter appropriately called this picture, “peace.” When we understand who and what God is, and what God has done for us, and what He means to us, this is where we find ourselves. We find ourselves in the storms of life but burrowed down in the bosom of God.

TODAY’S STUDY …


V. TRUTH #5 SIN AND CONFESSION: SIN BREAKS MY TEMPORAL WALK WITH GOD, BUT NOT MY ETERNAL FELLOWSHIP. 1 Jn 1:9; Ps 32

Many new Christians know they have been forgiven of their sins, but they soon wonder of the sins they commit after their conversion experience. Some erroneously conclude that they have lost their salvation and that they must go back and be saved once a gain. We must understand that all of our sins are forgiven, past, present and future. But nevertheless there is a place for confession and restoration because sin, although it is eternally forgiven has temporal effects. And because of this we must deal with it. 1 John 1:9 speaks of confessing sin. Psalm 32 is the record of David confessing his sin before God. As soon as we sin we should go before the Lord and confess (agree with Him) the sin and claim His forgiveness.

We also note that that as Christians we have a new perspective on sin. We don’t see it as we did once. For one we have been set free from its bonds. We are no longer its slave. We no long have to sin. But also, we have a new disposition, an attitude that makes us now incompatible with sin. Sin no longer has a comfortable place with us. Because we are people of the new life it is the sin that is out of place and has no welcome in us. Once all we could do was sin, but now sin is an outsider, an unwelcome intruder.

(Illustration: Sin, General) In families parents have children. Sometimes relationships between parents and children are tested. Sometimes they are threatened. But no matter what happens there is still that relationship. But although there is the relationship, because of the breakdown the blessing cannot flow as it would if the relationship was as it should be. Love can exist but love cannot be completely expressed if there is a breakdown in a relationship. And such it is with our relationship with God.

VI. TRUTH #6 SOWING AND REAPING: SIN HAS REAL AND LASTING CONSEQUENCES. Gal 6:7-8; Hos 8:7

Speaking of sin, in the Christian life, sin has real and lasting consequences. The law of sowing and reaping is found in Galatians 6:7-8 and Hosea 8:7. We are very much forgiven as we just stated, and eternally in the bonds of God, but in time sin can have an effect on us that can ruin our lives as well as the people around us.

(Illustration: Sin, General) I think of the seminary student that had a promising career before him. He was married to a lovely woman and they had two small children. On the way to the seminary there was an adult pornography shop. He began to stop. The pornography developed into engaging with prostitutes. And from there he engaged in the grossest of sin. He was found out and he lost his marriage, his children, his education and his career.

VII. TRUTH #7 SOVEREIGNTY: GOD WORKS ALL THINGS OUT FOR GOOD. Ro 8:28; Gen 50:20; Jer 29:11-14

Here is one of the most astounding and reassuring truths of the Bible. “All things” are not good. In fact, all things in this fallen world tend to be bad. However, in the sovereignty of God, He does a remarkable thing. He takes all the bad of this life, all the mistakes, and all the sins and works them together for His glory and our good. When we belong to God as children (as seen in our love for Him), all things ultimately work together for good. We see this in Romans 8:28 (Genesis 50:20) and Jeremiah 29:11-14 with Israel being disciplined by God.



Stop and consider the depth and impact of that promise! What marvelous love and assurance! God takes all my mistakes and my sins. He takes all my foolishness and missteps and works them out for my good and His glory. I am not sure exactly how He does that, nor am I sure when He does it, but it is a certainty. This means I live a life of no regret! This certainty means that I do not live in remorse and guilt and “what ifs” and “if onlys.” Without this promise the guilt and remorse and the regret can become unbearable! When I hear a Christian talk about the great opportunities they missed, and how life for them did not turn out as it should have I know I am talking to someone that either does not know or is not applying the sovereignty of God to their situation, and specifically Romans 8:28. Is your God so small and inept that He cannot rise to the occasion of your life and work it for good? He certainly can. We enter into mid-lfe, and old age and death with the complete certitude that our lives counted and that God stands behind our lives with His sovereign purposes.

VIII. TRUTH #8 BLESSING AND SUFFERING: BLESSING DOES NOT ALWAYS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOW OBEDIENCE, AND NEITHER DOES SUFFERING IMMEDIATELY FOLLOW SIN. Job 1:1; 1 Pt 4:12; Ja 1:2; Ps 10:1-11; 37:1-5; 73:1-9

Every thinking Christian sooner or later wonders what is God not blessing me as I expect, and why is God allowing suffering in my life that I do not expect? Why is God not honoring my obedience with blessing, and why is He bringing suffering instead? And why is it that disobedience is often followed by blessing? What are disobedience people so blessed?

Job suffered unjustly it seems in Job 1:1. Peter spoke of not being alarmed at the undeserved suffering that would come our way in 1 Peter 4:12. James said to consider suffering all joy in James 1:2. And then the Psalmist would oftentimes wonder about the prosperity of the wicked as seen in Psalm 10:1-11; Psalm 37:1-5; Psalm 73:1-9. How is all this reconciled?

We expect …

Obedience ------------------------------ Blessing

Disobedience -------------------------- Suffering

But we find …

Obedience ----------------------------- Suffering

Disobedience ------------------------- Blessing

The simple truth from the Bible is that God allows inequities and injustice to persist in this life. God allows righteous people to suffer and he allows wicked people to prosper as a part of His infinite wisdom. We don’t always know why, but it is a basic truth. We should face this with growing faith that trusts God even in the mystery of His plan.

This does not mean that God never blesses His children, nor does it mean that God does not punish the wicked. Oftentimes in life God does this and we see the evidence of it. But it is not entirely the case and it is not always immediate or timely. We must trust God to work out His perfect justice not only in time but eternity. God can be trust to mete out perfect justice, but God does so while allowing for both time and eternity. He calls on our faithfulness even when we don’t see immediate results from obedience and when we don’t see immediate repercussions from sin.

IX. TRUTH #10 GOD’S POWER MANIFESTS ITSELF INDEPENDENTLY, INTERDEPENDENTLY, AND INTERNALLY. Exodus 16:4; Mk 6:41; 2 Cor 12:7

Out ninth truth is related to this truth. This truth helps us understand how God works. We often expect God to work in an overt physical way. But that is not always the case. Look at the three forms of the manifestation of God’s power.

Independently: Here God displays His power in a situation without any human contribution. He does it all as seen in Exodus 16:4 where God provided manna in the wilderness. This miracle was unilateral; God just did it. Sometimes this is the way God manifests His power in our lives.

Interdependently: God also manifests His power in conjunction with what we do. In Mark 6:41 we find the feeding of the 5,000. Remember that Jesus took the humble lunch of the boy which was made up of five loaves and two fishes. Jesus fed all of those people on that small lunch. He could have produced the lunch out of thin air (independently), but He chose to use the resources of people. Sometimes God works with our resources and efforts to display His remarkable power. It is still all of Him and He deserves all the praise, but He chooses to use us.

Internally: And finally we find that sometimes God does not work at all in a overt, demonstrative or physical way. He rather, works inside of us as we see in 2 Corinthians 12:7 where we find the account of Paul’s thorn in the flesh. Is God silent and inactive in such situations? Not at all! He is working just as much as when He works independently or interdependently; it is just that He has chosen to manifest His power in our attitude and ability to persevere and honor Him in suffering.

CONCLUSION

We wish Tolstoy was with us today sitting on the front row, but he has gone on to his reward. He is no doubt with the Lord in heaven. But he has taught us this morning. He has demonstrated for us the importance to not only understand the ideal and standard of God, but to experience the sufficient grace that enables us to achieve God’s expectations and standards.