Friday, January 15, 2010
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Sermons Podcast
Hey, I've uploaded three of my sermons that I could find in audio format.
or direct links
Christian Godliness in the World - Titus 3
A God you can depend on - Joel 2:18-27
True Life - John 11
you can also go here to view the main page.
Laurence.
or direct links
Christian Godliness in the World - Titus 3
A God you can depend on - Joel 2:18-27
True Life - John 11
you can also go here to view the main page.
Laurence.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Christian Godliness in the World
Hi, My latest sermon to give you food for thought!
Titus 3 – Christian Godliness in the World
(Second reading 1 Timothy 4)
How would you feel,
if your regular doctor,
who was cardiac sergeant,
was living a lifestyle which would lead you to question if he was really a doctor.
Every time you go to see him,
he assures you that you are in good health,
yet you notice that he is always coughing,
his always smoking, and is always eating mac'as.
Every time you ring up for advice, he is always at the local bar drinking.
Now, I don’t about you, but that would make me question,
it would make me question his claims about me being in good health and even his claim about being a doctor.
Christian sometimes fall into this problem as well, they claim to have the knowledge of truth,
yet their speech and their lives do not show it.
Point 1 - Truth leads to Godliness (v3-8)
Now, the knowledge of the truth has been a common theme throughout the book of Titus
and we have seen that knowledge of truth and Godliness cannot be separated,
they go together.
So when the truth is taught faithfully,
ungodliness is renounced
but when the truth is not taught,
for those who deny God like the Cretans,
they actually turn to myths and they are liars and are detestable and disobedient.
So what is this knowledge of truth?
Well Paul helps us out in verse 8,
he says this is a trustworthy saying, this is the truth.
What is this trustworthy saying that he is talking about,
well we need to go back to verse 4 where he gives us an explanation of what God has done for us.
But before we start looking at verse 4 together, let’s turn our attention to God in prayer.
Heavenly father, we give you great thanks that you have revealed yourself through your word and we ask you now to help us, to help us understand your word and to grow in Christ-likeness, We ask this through Jesus’ name, Amen.
So, let’s pick it up from verse 4,
“When the kindness and love of God our saviour appeared, he saved us”.
What did God saved us from?
Well verse 3, “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another”.
This image of human life that we see in verse 3 is an unpleasant image
and it’s an image of human life without the grace of God.
It’s a life where we were foolish and disobedient,
were we lacked any sense or knowledge of what is right,
where we were both mentally and morally deprived.
We were deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.
Most Australian’, while they might muck from time to time, would say that they are generally a good person,
however this verse tells us that we weren’t good people
because we were deceived and enslaved to evil desire,
we were enslaved to sin and there was nothing we could do,
to not live this way.
And as a result we lived in malice and envy,
being hated and hating one another.
We resented each other and we were hostile towards one another.
It is because of this reason that we could not know God
and that we need someone to save us,
someone to rescue us from our bondage to sin
and to change us into new people who know and live for God.
So when the kindness and love of God our saviour appeared,
he saved us,
and he saved us not because of any righteous things we had done,
but because of his mercy.
Now if we are truly deprived and enslaved to sin,
then really,
there is nothing we can do to save ourselves.
Yet, our world seems to think this is not the case,
our world tells us that true happiness,
fulfilment,
salvation is found from within.
Even those who claim to be religious,
they think that they can earn God’s favour,
God’s salvation from within by good works.
However this isn’t the salvation Paul is talking about,
notice in verse 4 that we have been saved from depravity by the appearing of God our saviour.
The Lord Jesus our saviour is our source of salvation,
he is the one who has rescued us,
he is the one who has revealed God to us
and this salvation is entirely from God’s own heart,
from his kindness, from his love, his grace and his mercy in sending Jesus.
How does God’s mercy in sending Jesus save us?
Well Verse 5, “God saves us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour” And who verse 7, has justified by his grace.
God in his mercy has justified us
which means that he has declared right,
he has declared us forgiven,
by the death of Jesus on the cross
and by his grace.
And at the same time God has also changed our hearts,
he has made us into a new creation,
giving us new birth
which basically means that he has changed us to know and follow him,
to be like Christ,
and his done this through the Holy Spirit.
Now I wonder if you have noticed that the only reason you are saved,
that you know God,
is because God has saved you himself.
He has done this through Jesus,
by the justification that came by his blood,
he has done it through the Holy Spirit,
by whom he gave you new birth and a renewed heart
and it is motivated by his kindness and he love.
God the father, the son and the Holy Spirit work together in an amazing way to bring salvation to you.
So, why have you been saved,
what is you purpose?
Verse 7, you have been saved, “so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”
Did you know that your purpose for your Christian life is to become an heir,
an heir of God and a co-heir with Christ?
God has saved us for this purpose,
he saved us to become an heir of God,
and because we are heirs,
we now have a great hope and great assurance of fullness of life with God forever,
the hope of eternal life.
Now, this salvation that we have just heard,
Paul is telling us in verse 8,
that it is trustworthy,
that it is the truth and that it must be trusted.
And Paul wants timothy to stress these things, to insist these things,
“so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good” or literally, devoted to do good works.
If you have trust in God,
then you know this truth of salvation,
you have the knowledge of truth,
however this trust in God,
isn’t just head knowledge,
but it’s a trust which leads to good works,
which leads to Godliness.
Paul isn’t saying that we are saved by good work,
he already established that we are saved by grace,
but he is actually saying that good works is the necessary fruit and evidence that we have been saved.
Now, if we are saved people,
if we are renewed people,
then a true knowledge of the truth will actually shape the way you think and the way you act,
to do God’s will,
to be like Christ,
to be devoted to good works.
It like we heard last week,
where you can’t have knowledge of truth without Godliness, without a response which expresses our relationship with God.
Let me encourage you
and urge to grow in knowledge of the truth,
to be reminded of the salvation God has given you,
to know God,
to listen to his voice,
to read your bibles and study his word
so that you may know how to be devoted to doing good works because good works is excellent and it’s profitable for everyone.
Point 2 – Duty for life in the world (v1-2, 9-11)
Now in Titus so far,
we have seen what it looks like to be an heir of God,
we have seen what it looks like to be Christian who is devoted to good works in different roles and situations.
In chapter 1,
we saw Christian duty in the church,
how elders and leaders of the church are meant to live and what they are to teach.
In chapter 2 we saw Christian duty in the home,
how men, women and slaves are to live
and what they are to teach.
Now in chapter 3 Paul goes on to talk about Christian duty in the world,
how Christians who are devoted to good works are meant to respond to the world,
to the community around us.
So firstly, how are Christian meant to respond to rulers and authorities?
Well verse 1, “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good”.
We are commanded to be obedient,
to be obedient to those in the world who have rulership and authority over us.
Does this mean that we obey and do everything they tell us?
Well no,
because that would be idolatry,
it would be worshiping them rather then worshiping God.
Peter in Acts 5 tells us that we must obey God rather then men.
So our first allegiance is to God,
however if a ruler or those in authority
command us to do something which is not in collision with God’s commands,
then our duty is to obey them.
We are called to obey them because as Paul tells us in Romans 13, those in authority have actually been delegated to it by God for the duties of punishing evil and promoting good.
Notice that this verse also tells us to be ready to do whatever is good
because it’s not enough just to be obedient to rulers and authority
but we actually need to be ready to cooperate with them
and help them to complete their duties.
Now what about everyone else in the world,
what about non-Christians,
how are we to relate to them?
Verse 2, we are to “slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.”
Friends, we are being watched,
make sure that your speech and your behaviour reflects your devotion to doing good works,
make sure you are pointing people to Jesus by your Christ-likeness of character.
Don’t slander anyone,
don’t be argumentative but be considerate,
show gentleness and graciousness,
show humility,
courtesy
and meekness towards all men just as Jesus did.
Are you considered,
gentle
and gracious towards all people?
What about the people who get on your nerves and really annoy you?
Do you show humility and courtesy to them?
Or do you get angry and prideful?
Remember that you too, verse 3,
where once foolish,
disobedient and deceived,
you too once where once anti-social.
But God has changed you,
he has saved you and has renewed you heart,
with the knowledge of the truth,
with the news about salvation.
It is not enough to just affirm that the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
We must be able to say that he saves us,
he saved me
and he can save you.
And you see by being obedient to the authorities,
by being humble,
gentle
and showing courtesy towards all men,
in doing this,
we have the opportunity to point people to the knowledge of truth,
to point people to Jesus.
People will ask why, why are we different.
Now if good works is excellent and profitable for everyone as we have just seen,
then what isn’t profitable?
What is it that we are meant to avoid?
Well verse 9, “but avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless”.
Is this verse saying that we should not debate and disagree with people?
No, because Jesus himself was a controversialist,
he was always in constant debate with the religious leader of his day.
We heard last week that God expects us to be intolerant,
to have discernment when it comes to knowing the truth.
And we saw in chapter 1 that false teachers need to be silenced and rebuked.
No, Paul isn’t saying that we shouldn’t debate with people
but he is saying that we need to avoid speech which is foolish.
One thing I’ve noticed talking to non-Christian over the years on university campus
is that people love talking about evolution,
about the big bang,
about church corruption,
even Christian’s love talking about them.
Now there is nothing wrong about debating over these issues,
but the thing I noticed was that,
just talking about these issues without actually getting to the truth,
getting to the gospel was,
like this verse says,
unprofitable and useless.
Having clever arguments isn’t going to bring people into a relationship with God,
it’s the knowledge of the truth,
it’s the Gospel,
it’s Jesus that bring people into relationship with God.
What about if someone amongst us is divisive and not teaching the truth?
Well verse 10, “Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self condemned.”
Paul commands Titus to discipline them,
to warn them once,
and if they continue,
warn them again,
and if they refuse to repent after the second warning,
have nothing to do with them because they are warped and are sinful.
In the 1 timothy passage that we read earlier this evening,
like Titus chapter 3,
we are told to remember the truth,
to grow in Godliness,
to command and teach the truth,
to watch your life and doctrine closely,
and if you do this,
you will save both yourself and your hearers.
This implies that the danger with a person who is divisive
and who doesn’t repent is that they will condemn not only themselves but their hearers’ as well. They need to be disciplined.
Do you watch your life and doctrine closely?
Are you devoted to doing good works?
And if you are,
are you making the most of the opportunity which come before you, whatever the place is,
if it’s at work,
or at home,
or with friends,
do you point others to the truth,
do you point others to Jesus?
Well let me encourage you to start talking to people about Jesus.
As you might of heard,
this year we have the connect 09 campaign,
a Sydney wide mission to reach the lost in our community.
Make sure that you are gracious,
gentle,
showing humility,
courtesy to all men,
and do start praying for opportunities and you know God will give those opportunities to you. So start praying now!
Point 3 – Final Personal Messages (v12-15)
Finally in verses 12-15,
Paul makes some final remarks to Titus.
Titus was originally left in Crete to set things right
and soon he is going to be replaced by either Artemas or Tychicus.
In the mean time he is to do his best to meet Paul in Nicopolis
and when Zenas and Apollos arrive in crete,
he is to make sure their needs are met.
Paul reminds us again in verse 13,
that all Christians “must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives”.
Again we see Paul emphasising the need for Christians to do good works and especially to provide for people with pressing needs.
Good works must be the logical and the natural expression of our trust in God, and if this is the case, we won't be fruitless.
finally, in verse 15,
we see that faith is the thing that unites all Paul’s companions together
and all Christians together in love,
faith in the grace of God,
faith that God has justified us,
faith that he has renewed us,
for the purposes of being an heir of God and the having the hope of eternal life.
Friends, let me remind you again that this salvation that God offers,
which is totally at God own expense,
is trustworthy,
it is the truth.
Therefore make every effort to know the truth,
to keep reading your bibles
and be reminded of the salvation that God offers,
so that you may know how to be devoted to doing what is good
because it is excellent and profitable for all people.
Grace be with you all, Amen.
Titus 3 – Christian Godliness in the World
(Second reading 1 Timothy 4)
How would you feel,
if your regular doctor,
who was cardiac sergeant,
was living a lifestyle which would lead you to question if he was really a doctor.
Every time you go to see him,
he assures you that you are in good health,
yet you notice that he is always coughing,
his always smoking, and is always eating mac'as.
Every time you ring up for advice, he is always at the local bar drinking.
Now, I don’t about you, but that would make me question,
it would make me question his claims about me being in good health and even his claim about being a doctor.
Christian sometimes fall into this problem as well, they claim to have the knowledge of truth,
yet their speech and their lives do not show it.
Point 1 - Truth leads to Godliness (v3-8)
Now, the knowledge of the truth has been a common theme throughout the book of Titus
and we have seen that knowledge of truth and Godliness cannot be separated,
they go together.
So when the truth is taught faithfully,
ungodliness is renounced
but when the truth is not taught,
for those who deny God like the Cretans,
they actually turn to myths and they are liars and are detestable and disobedient.
So what is this knowledge of truth?
Well Paul helps us out in verse 8,
he says this is a trustworthy saying, this is the truth.
What is this trustworthy saying that he is talking about,
well we need to go back to verse 4 where he gives us an explanation of what God has done for us.
But before we start looking at verse 4 together, let’s turn our attention to God in prayer.
Heavenly father, we give you great thanks that you have revealed yourself through your word and we ask you now to help us, to help us understand your word and to grow in Christ-likeness, We ask this through Jesus’ name, Amen.
So, let’s pick it up from verse 4,
“When the kindness and love of God our saviour appeared, he saved us”.
What did God saved us from?
Well verse 3, “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another”.
This image of human life that we see in verse 3 is an unpleasant image
and it’s an image of human life without the grace of God.
It’s a life where we were foolish and disobedient,
were we lacked any sense or knowledge of what is right,
where we were both mentally and morally deprived.
We were deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.
Most Australian’, while they might muck from time to time, would say that they are generally a good person,
however this verse tells us that we weren’t good people
because we were deceived and enslaved to evil desire,
we were enslaved to sin and there was nothing we could do,
to not live this way.
And as a result we lived in malice and envy,
being hated and hating one another.
We resented each other and we were hostile towards one another.
It is because of this reason that we could not know God
and that we need someone to save us,
someone to rescue us from our bondage to sin
and to change us into new people who know and live for God.
So when the kindness and love of God our saviour appeared,
he saved us,
and he saved us not because of any righteous things we had done,
but because of his mercy.
Now if we are truly deprived and enslaved to sin,
then really,
there is nothing we can do to save ourselves.
Yet, our world seems to think this is not the case,
our world tells us that true happiness,
fulfilment,
salvation is found from within.
Even those who claim to be religious,
they think that they can earn God’s favour,
God’s salvation from within by good works.
However this isn’t the salvation Paul is talking about,
notice in verse 4 that we have been saved from depravity by the appearing of God our saviour.
The Lord Jesus our saviour is our source of salvation,
he is the one who has rescued us,
he is the one who has revealed God to us
and this salvation is entirely from God’s own heart,
from his kindness, from his love, his grace and his mercy in sending Jesus.
How does God’s mercy in sending Jesus save us?
Well Verse 5, “God saves us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour” And who verse 7, has justified by his grace.
God in his mercy has justified us
which means that he has declared right,
he has declared us forgiven,
by the death of Jesus on the cross
and by his grace.
And at the same time God has also changed our hearts,
he has made us into a new creation,
giving us new birth
which basically means that he has changed us to know and follow him,
to be like Christ,
and his done this through the Holy Spirit.
Now I wonder if you have noticed that the only reason you are saved,
that you know God,
is because God has saved you himself.
He has done this through Jesus,
by the justification that came by his blood,
he has done it through the Holy Spirit,
by whom he gave you new birth and a renewed heart
and it is motivated by his kindness and he love.
God the father, the son and the Holy Spirit work together in an amazing way to bring salvation to you.
So, why have you been saved,
what is you purpose?
Verse 7, you have been saved, “so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”
Did you know that your purpose for your Christian life is to become an heir,
an heir of God and a co-heir with Christ?
God has saved us for this purpose,
he saved us to become an heir of God,
and because we are heirs,
we now have a great hope and great assurance of fullness of life with God forever,
the hope of eternal life.
Now, this salvation that we have just heard,
Paul is telling us in verse 8,
that it is trustworthy,
that it is the truth and that it must be trusted.
And Paul wants timothy to stress these things, to insist these things,
“so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good” or literally, devoted to do good works.
If you have trust in God,
then you know this truth of salvation,
you have the knowledge of truth,
however this trust in God,
isn’t just head knowledge,
but it’s a trust which leads to good works,
which leads to Godliness.
Paul isn’t saying that we are saved by good work,
he already established that we are saved by grace,
but he is actually saying that good works is the necessary fruit and evidence that we have been saved.
Now, if we are saved people,
if we are renewed people,
then a true knowledge of the truth will actually shape the way you think and the way you act,
to do God’s will,
to be like Christ,
to be devoted to good works.
It like we heard last week,
where you can’t have knowledge of truth without Godliness, without a response which expresses our relationship with God.
Let me encourage you
and urge to grow in knowledge of the truth,
to be reminded of the salvation God has given you,
to know God,
to listen to his voice,
to read your bibles and study his word
so that you may know how to be devoted to doing good works because good works is excellent and it’s profitable for everyone.
Point 2 – Duty for life in the world (v1-2, 9-11)
Now in Titus so far,
we have seen what it looks like to be an heir of God,
we have seen what it looks like to be Christian who is devoted to good works in different roles and situations.
In chapter 1,
we saw Christian duty in the church,
how elders and leaders of the church are meant to live and what they are to teach.
In chapter 2 we saw Christian duty in the home,
how men, women and slaves are to live
and what they are to teach.
Now in chapter 3 Paul goes on to talk about Christian duty in the world,
how Christians who are devoted to good works are meant to respond to the world,
to the community around us.
So firstly, how are Christian meant to respond to rulers and authorities?
Well verse 1, “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good”.
We are commanded to be obedient,
to be obedient to those in the world who have rulership and authority over us.
Does this mean that we obey and do everything they tell us?
Well no,
because that would be idolatry,
it would be worshiping them rather then worshiping God.
Peter in Acts 5 tells us that we must obey God rather then men.
So our first allegiance is to God,
however if a ruler or those in authority
command us to do something which is not in collision with God’s commands,
then our duty is to obey them.
We are called to obey them because as Paul tells us in Romans 13, those in authority have actually been delegated to it by God for the duties of punishing evil and promoting good.
Notice that this verse also tells us to be ready to do whatever is good
because it’s not enough just to be obedient to rulers and authority
but we actually need to be ready to cooperate with them
and help them to complete their duties.
Now what about everyone else in the world,
what about non-Christians,
how are we to relate to them?
Verse 2, we are to “slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.”
Friends, we are being watched,
make sure that your speech and your behaviour reflects your devotion to doing good works,
make sure you are pointing people to Jesus by your Christ-likeness of character.
Don’t slander anyone,
don’t be argumentative but be considerate,
show gentleness and graciousness,
show humility,
courtesy
and meekness towards all men just as Jesus did.
Are you considered,
gentle
and gracious towards all people?
What about the people who get on your nerves and really annoy you?
Do you show humility and courtesy to them?
Or do you get angry and prideful?
Remember that you too, verse 3,
where once foolish,
disobedient and deceived,
you too once where once anti-social.
But God has changed you,
he has saved you and has renewed you heart,
with the knowledge of the truth,
with the news about salvation.
It is not enough to just affirm that the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
We must be able to say that he saves us,
he saved me
and he can save you.
And you see by being obedient to the authorities,
by being humble,
gentle
and showing courtesy towards all men,
in doing this,
we have the opportunity to point people to the knowledge of truth,
to point people to Jesus.
People will ask why, why are we different.
Now if good works is excellent and profitable for everyone as we have just seen,
then what isn’t profitable?
What is it that we are meant to avoid?
Well verse 9, “but avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless”.
Is this verse saying that we should not debate and disagree with people?
No, because Jesus himself was a controversialist,
he was always in constant debate with the religious leader of his day.
We heard last week that God expects us to be intolerant,
to have discernment when it comes to knowing the truth.
And we saw in chapter 1 that false teachers need to be silenced and rebuked.
No, Paul isn’t saying that we shouldn’t debate with people
but he is saying that we need to avoid speech which is foolish.
One thing I’ve noticed talking to non-Christian over the years on university campus
is that people love talking about evolution,
about the big bang,
about church corruption,
even Christian’s love talking about them.
Now there is nothing wrong about debating over these issues,
but the thing I noticed was that,
just talking about these issues without actually getting to the truth,
getting to the gospel was,
like this verse says,
unprofitable and useless.
Having clever arguments isn’t going to bring people into a relationship with God,
it’s the knowledge of the truth,
it’s the Gospel,
it’s Jesus that bring people into relationship with God.
What about if someone amongst us is divisive and not teaching the truth?
Well verse 10, “Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self condemned.”
Paul commands Titus to discipline them,
to warn them once,
and if they continue,
warn them again,
and if they refuse to repent after the second warning,
have nothing to do with them because they are warped and are sinful.
In the 1 timothy passage that we read earlier this evening,
like Titus chapter 3,
we are told to remember the truth,
to grow in Godliness,
to command and teach the truth,
to watch your life and doctrine closely,
and if you do this,
you will save both yourself and your hearers.
This implies that the danger with a person who is divisive
and who doesn’t repent is that they will condemn not only themselves but their hearers’ as well. They need to be disciplined.
Do you watch your life and doctrine closely?
Are you devoted to doing good works?
And if you are,
are you making the most of the opportunity which come before you, whatever the place is,
if it’s at work,
or at home,
or with friends,
do you point others to the truth,
do you point others to Jesus?
Well let me encourage you to start talking to people about Jesus.
As you might of heard,
this year we have the connect 09 campaign,
a Sydney wide mission to reach the lost in our community.
Make sure that you are gracious,
gentle,
showing humility,
courtesy to all men,
and do start praying for opportunities and you know God will give those opportunities to you. So start praying now!
Point 3 – Final Personal Messages (v12-15)
Finally in verses 12-15,
Paul makes some final remarks to Titus.
Titus was originally left in Crete to set things right
and soon he is going to be replaced by either Artemas or Tychicus.
In the mean time he is to do his best to meet Paul in Nicopolis
and when Zenas and Apollos arrive in crete,
he is to make sure their needs are met.
Paul reminds us again in verse 13,
that all Christians “must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives”.
Again we see Paul emphasising the need for Christians to do good works and especially to provide for people with pressing needs.
Good works must be the logical and the natural expression of our trust in God, and if this is the case, we won't be fruitless.
finally, in verse 15,
we see that faith is the thing that unites all Paul’s companions together
and all Christians together in love,
faith in the grace of God,
faith that God has justified us,
faith that he has renewed us,
for the purposes of being an heir of God and the having the hope of eternal life.
Friends, let me remind you again that this salvation that God offers,
which is totally at God own expense,
is trustworthy,
it is the truth.
Therefore make every effort to know the truth,
to keep reading your bibles
and be reminded of the salvation that God offers,
so that you may know how to be devoted to doing what is good
because it is excellent and profitable for all people.
Grace be with you all, Amen.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
The True Gospel Recieved by Faith
Hi fellow readers, I have just come back from an excellent christian conference called SPRTE and mission in Nowra. When I get a chance, I will write a review. However, I preached on mission at Nowra Baptist, Greenwell Point and Culburra Baptist on Sin and God's Solution. So I'll thought I'll share it with you.
Point 1 – Our Human Problem
We have all heard the saying, “If you want to get it done right... you have to do it yourself.”
Or perhaps you have heard the saying “If you want something good in your life... you must get it yourself.”
Now, these sayings, which are focused on us and our abilities to make things right and good, are actually a reflection on the way our world thinks and acts.
Sadly, this kind of thinking, has also distorted people’s understanding of how we get right with God.
So instead of getting right with God through faith, people have actually added works, where good works is required to be in the right with God.
Now a few months ago back home on my university campus, I went around asking people that if they were to die and come before God, and God was to say “Why should I let you into heaven”, what would their response be?
And you know almost all of them said to me, Yeah, God should let me in because I’m a good person, I mean, I haven’t murdered anyone, I haven’t really stolen anything, there is a couple of times when I have lied, but really, lying isn’t that bad, doesn’t everyone do it?
Now, how might you respond to someone who thinks this way?
Would you agree with them?
Should they be allowed to enter heaven and be in the right with God?
Well, the book of Romans actually highlights a major problem with this type of thinking. The problem is that people, people like you and I, have rejected God and because of our rejection, we run away from God, not living his way but living for our own desires.
We see this in chapter 3 where it says that no one is righteous, no one is good, doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, doesn’t matter if you’re from Sydney or from Nowra, no, not even one, there is no one who understands God, no one who seeks God for all have turned away.
If God was to put the entire human race into his court room right now, would there be anyone who would be good enough to be right with God?
Would there be anyone who is not wicked?
Anyone who is not evil?
Have you ever lied?
Have you ever been greedy?
Have you ever been full of envy, or slanderous, or arrogant and boastful?
Well let me tell you that God’s sentence for rejecting him and not living his way is facing his judgment and his wrath and eternal condemnation.
Therefore our only response should be one of silence because we have nothing to say to our defence.
In the beginning of our passage that we read earlier in verse 20, we see this exact problem,
we see that when we compare our lives to the law, to God’s commands,
it shows us that we don’t actually deserve to be in the right with God because we don’t actually live for him, we have a problem with our hearts, a problem called sin.
Now, if this is the case, if indeed we are sinful, then how can we be right with God?
Well God has actually provided a solution for us and it’s a solution which is done completely at his own expense.
Point 2 – God’s Solution to our Problem
This brings us to our passage today/tonight,
now before we begin; let’s turn our attention to God in prayer asking that he will help us to understand the passage as we look at it together.
So let’s prayer,
Heavenly father, we give you thanks for making yourself know to us through your word and we ask you now to clear our minds of any distractions and we ask you to change us by your spirit to live for you. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Amen.
Now I hope you have your bibles open and let’s pick it up from verse 21. This is God’s solution to our problem,
“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace”
Now last week, I want down at a conference in Canberra.
And one thing I noticed was that there were some blokes who actually wore the same shirt every day.
And by the end of the conference, these blokes actually had a number of interesting stains on their shirt,
they had pasta stains on one side, they had tomato source on the other and they had pen marks as far as the eye could see.
In a similar way, our sin is like a filthy shirt that just never wants to get cleaned.
Even when we try to wash it with good works, it just doesn’t want to become spotless.
But you know God has actually provided a solution,
he has justified us which means that he has declared us right before him and he does this by removing our filthy shirt and replacing it with a spotless one.
Now if God’s a holy God who is angry at sin,
how is it even fair or just that he could forgive a sinner like you and I and declare us right before him?
Wouldn’t that make God immoral?
Wouldn’t it make sin seem like it’s not that bad?
Well if we read verse 24 again, it says that,
God has “justified us freely by his grace, as a free gift, through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood.”
God did through Jesus what we could not do,
because of God’s mercy he wills to forgive sinful people, to forgive you and me and to declare us right before him,
but to do this, God had to deal with our human problem,
he had to deal with our sin,
and he dealt with it through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Now the word redemption is actually a commercial term borrowed from the slave marketplace.
It was used when talking about slaves who were purchased at a price in order to be set free.
So how does God rescue you and redeem you?
Well it’s because God has payed a price,
the price was his son who came to give his life as a random for many.
And he did this in order to set you free from your bondage to sin so that you may be free to live for God.
How did God do this,
well, God presented Jesus on the cross as a sacrifice of atonement for our sins.
Now, in the Old Testament God introduced a sacrificial system where God’s people needed to make sacrifices regularly so that their sins would be atoned for,
however the sacrifice could never really atone for the sins of those people,
rather God introduced the sacrificial system to teach the seriousness of sins and that a payment had to be made.
However, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross has fully payed the penalty for our sins because Jesus took the full anger of God that we deserved for our rebellion against him.
The NIV footnote for v25 also had more dept into what this means, that Jesus has turned away God’s wrath,
that he has pleased God’s wrath,
taking away sins so that we may be forgiven.
Now we have just talked about three big ideas, these being,
that we are justified, that we redeemed and that Jesus atoned for our sins.
But to make it easier for us to understand these ideas and particularly if you’re a person like me who likes pictures,
I want you to imagine three different locations. These being a law court room, a slave master place and a temple.
So, in a law court, we have a man who is declared guilty and a man named Jesus steps up.
He shouts out “I will pay his punishment for him”.
Jesus then takes his place and the person is let out justified, he is let out innocent and is reconcilled.
Secondly, in a slave market place, there is a man who is chained and is taken off to serve bondage to slavery.
Then a man named Jesus steps up again, he shouts out “I will pay his debt for him” The person is then ransomed, he debt is payed for and his is blessed by Jesus.
And thirdly, at a temple, where they make sacrifices, there is a man who is offering a sacrifice to God, he says “God, here is a cow; I know I don’t deserve it but here it is anyways.”
Jesus then steps up and say “You know, the cow doesn’t really cut it with God, the sacrifice isn't sufficent for your sins, but I can.”
So Jesus takes the punishment the man deserves and the man is filled with assurance that Jesus’ sacrifice fully pay for his sins.
So how do we get right with God?
Well it’s because God at the cross justifies us, he declares us right,
this is possible because God has redeemed us,
he has paid the price and the penalty for our sins by atoning for us by the shedding of his blood.
Now why did God do this, verse 25, “he did it to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. He did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”
God in his forbearance left the sins of formal generation unpunished to show the seriousness of sin and in God’s own timing he sent Jesus to finally pay the penalty of sin,
the sins of the past, of the present and of the future,
why?,
well God did it to show his justice. That God is just when he forgives a sinner because he paid the penalty himself.
Point 3 – The call for faith in Jesus
So how do we receive this righteousness from God?
Do we receive it by being a good person?
The people on university campus that I spoke to certainly thought this way.
But you know, three times in our passage, we see that this righteousness from God is made available through faith in Jesus.
Verse 22, “through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe”, Verse 25, “through faith in his blood” and verse 26, “God justifies those who have faith in Jesus”.
It is only by faith in Jesus, faith in his death and resurrection,
Faith that his death was sufficient enough to take the penalty for our sins, that we can be declared right with God.
Faith is the eye that looks to Jesus, it is the hand that receives this free gift of righteousness and the heart that receives his word and follows it.
So let me ask you.
How do you stand before God?
What is your plea?
Because if you do not have faith in Jesus, if you have not received this righteousness from God through faith,
then you’re actually much worse of then you probably think you are,
because there is no one who is good, there is no one who is right with God for we all have rejected God.
But as we have heard, God has provided a solution for us and he does offer this solution to you if you receive it by faith.
Now God is patient and he continues to wait patiently for you to trust in Jesus, for you to put your faith in him.
But be warned that there will be a day when Jesus will return to judge the world separating the wicked from the good and on that day it will be too late to turn to him in faith.
So how will you respond?
Do you have faith in Jesus Christ?
If not, why not? Why don’t you put your faith in him today...
If you do have faith in Jesus Christ, that’s great, because you’re actually much better off then you probably think you are since you stand before God declared right,
you stand before God as being good where no wrath can come near you, where no guilt can endanger you and you look forward to the day when Jesus will return to judge the world and to show his final justice.
Friends, it’s great that we are right with God,
so let’s not be ashamed of this great news,
but lets us go out to the world and tell others God’s solution to our problem and let’s remember that the Gospel, this great news,
is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes
Let’s pray,
Heavenly father, we give you thanks that while we were sinners, you sent your son to die for us so that we can be in the right with you, so that we can be redeemed. And that the penalty for our sins was paid by Jesus’ blood on the cross. Lord, we ask you that if we have not put our faith in Jesus, help us to do so and help us to do so knowing that when we put our faith in Jesus, we can be in the right with you because of what Christ did on the cross. Lord, we also pray that you might spur us to pass to message on to others. And we ask this through Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Point 1 – Our Human Problem
We have all heard the saying, “If you want to get it done right... you have to do it yourself.”
Or perhaps you have heard the saying “If you want something good in your life... you must get it yourself.”
Now, these sayings, which are focused on us and our abilities to make things right and good, are actually a reflection on the way our world thinks and acts.
Sadly, this kind of thinking, has also distorted people’s understanding of how we get right with God.
So instead of getting right with God through faith, people have actually added works, where good works is required to be in the right with God.
Now a few months ago back home on my university campus, I went around asking people that if they were to die and come before God, and God was to say “Why should I let you into heaven”, what would their response be?
And you know almost all of them said to me, Yeah, God should let me in because I’m a good person, I mean, I haven’t murdered anyone, I haven’t really stolen anything, there is a couple of times when I have lied, but really, lying isn’t that bad, doesn’t everyone do it?
Now, how might you respond to someone who thinks this way?
Would you agree with them?
Should they be allowed to enter heaven and be in the right with God?
Well, the book of Romans actually highlights a major problem with this type of thinking. The problem is that people, people like you and I, have rejected God and because of our rejection, we run away from God, not living his way but living for our own desires.
We see this in chapter 3 where it says that no one is righteous, no one is good, doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, doesn’t matter if you’re from Sydney or from Nowra, no, not even one, there is no one who understands God, no one who seeks God for all have turned away.
If God was to put the entire human race into his court room right now, would there be anyone who would be good enough to be right with God?
Would there be anyone who is not wicked?
Anyone who is not evil?
Have you ever lied?
Have you ever been greedy?
Have you ever been full of envy, or slanderous, or arrogant and boastful?
Well let me tell you that God’s sentence for rejecting him and not living his way is facing his judgment and his wrath and eternal condemnation.
Therefore our only response should be one of silence because we have nothing to say to our defence.
In the beginning of our passage that we read earlier in verse 20, we see this exact problem,
we see that when we compare our lives to the law, to God’s commands,
it shows us that we don’t actually deserve to be in the right with God because we don’t actually live for him, we have a problem with our hearts, a problem called sin.
Now, if this is the case, if indeed we are sinful, then how can we be right with God?
Well God has actually provided a solution for us and it’s a solution which is done completely at his own expense.
Point 2 – God’s Solution to our Problem
This brings us to our passage today/tonight,
now before we begin; let’s turn our attention to God in prayer asking that he will help us to understand the passage as we look at it together.
So let’s prayer,
Heavenly father, we give you thanks for making yourself know to us through your word and we ask you now to clear our minds of any distractions and we ask you to change us by your spirit to live for you. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Amen.
Now I hope you have your bibles open and let’s pick it up from verse 21. This is God’s solution to our problem,
“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace”
Now last week, I want down at a conference in Canberra.
And one thing I noticed was that there were some blokes who actually wore the same shirt every day.
And by the end of the conference, these blokes actually had a number of interesting stains on their shirt,
they had pasta stains on one side, they had tomato source on the other and they had pen marks as far as the eye could see.
In a similar way, our sin is like a filthy shirt that just never wants to get cleaned.
Even when we try to wash it with good works, it just doesn’t want to become spotless.
But you know God has actually provided a solution,
he has justified us which means that he has declared us right before him and he does this by removing our filthy shirt and replacing it with a spotless one.
Now if God’s a holy God who is angry at sin,
how is it even fair or just that he could forgive a sinner like you and I and declare us right before him?
Wouldn’t that make God immoral?
Wouldn’t it make sin seem like it’s not that bad?
Well if we read verse 24 again, it says that,
God has “justified us freely by his grace, as a free gift, through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood.”
God did through Jesus what we could not do,
because of God’s mercy he wills to forgive sinful people, to forgive you and me and to declare us right before him,
but to do this, God had to deal with our human problem,
he had to deal with our sin,
and he dealt with it through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Now the word redemption is actually a commercial term borrowed from the slave marketplace.
It was used when talking about slaves who were purchased at a price in order to be set free.
So how does God rescue you and redeem you?
Well it’s because God has payed a price,
the price was his son who came to give his life as a random for many.
And he did this in order to set you free from your bondage to sin so that you may be free to live for God.
How did God do this,
well, God presented Jesus on the cross as a sacrifice of atonement for our sins.
Now, in the Old Testament God introduced a sacrificial system where God’s people needed to make sacrifices regularly so that their sins would be atoned for,
however the sacrifice could never really atone for the sins of those people,
rather God introduced the sacrificial system to teach the seriousness of sins and that a payment had to be made.
However, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross has fully payed the penalty for our sins because Jesus took the full anger of God that we deserved for our rebellion against him.
The NIV footnote for v25 also had more dept into what this means, that Jesus has turned away God’s wrath,
that he has pleased God’s wrath,
taking away sins so that we may be forgiven.
Now we have just talked about three big ideas, these being,
that we are justified, that we redeemed and that Jesus atoned for our sins.
But to make it easier for us to understand these ideas and particularly if you’re a person like me who likes pictures,
I want you to imagine three different locations. These being a law court room, a slave master place and a temple.
So, in a law court, we have a man who is declared guilty and a man named Jesus steps up.
He shouts out “I will pay his punishment for him”.
Jesus then takes his place and the person is let out justified, he is let out innocent and is reconcilled.
Secondly, in a slave market place, there is a man who is chained and is taken off to serve bondage to slavery.
Then a man named Jesus steps up again, he shouts out “I will pay his debt for him” The person is then ransomed, he debt is payed for and his is blessed by Jesus.
And thirdly, at a temple, where they make sacrifices, there is a man who is offering a sacrifice to God, he says “God, here is a cow; I know I don’t deserve it but here it is anyways.”
Jesus then steps up and say “You know, the cow doesn’t really cut it with God, the sacrifice isn't sufficent for your sins, but I can.”
So Jesus takes the punishment the man deserves and the man is filled with assurance that Jesus’ sacrifice fully pay for his sins.
So how do we get right with God?
Well it’s because God at the cross justifies us, he declares us right,
this is possible because God has redeemed us,
he has paid the price and the penalty for our sins by atoning for us by the shedding of his blood.
Now why did God do this, verse 25, “he did it to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. He did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”
God in his forbearance left the sins of formal generation unpunished to show the seriousness of sin and in God’s own timing he sent Jesus to finally pay the penalty of sin,
the sins of the past, of the present and of the future,
why?,
well God did it to show his justice. That God is just when he forgives a sinner because he paid the penalty himself.
Point 3 – The call for faith in Jesus
So how do we receive this righteousness from God?
Do we receive it by being a good person?
The people on university campus that I spoke to certainly thought this way.
But you know, three times in our passage, we see that this righteousness from God is made available through faith in Jesus.
Verse 22, “through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe”, Verse 25, “through faith in his blood” and verse 26, “God justifies those who have faith in Jesus”.
It is only by faith in Jesus, faith in his death and resurrection,
Faith that his death was sufficient enough to take the penalty for our sins, that we can be declared right with God.
Faith is the eye that looks to Jesus, it is the hand that receives this free gift of righteousness and the heart that receives his word and follows it.
So let me ask you.
How do you stand before God?
What is your plea?
Because if you do not have faith in Jesus, if you have not received this righteousness from God through faith,
then you’re actually much worse of then you probably think you are,
because there is no one who is good, there is no one who is right with God for we all have rejected God.
But as we have heard, God has provided a solution for us and he does offer this solution to you if you receive it by faith.
Now God is patient and he continues to wait patiently for you to trust in Jesus, for you to put your faith in him.
But be warned that there will be a day when Jesus will return to judge the world separating the wicked from the good and on that day it will be too late to turn to him in faith.
So how will you respond?
Do you have faith in Jesus Christ?
If not, why not? Why don’t you put your faith in him today...
If you do have faith in Jesus Christ, that’s great, because you’re actually much better off then you probably think you are since you stand before God declared right,
you stand before God as being good where no wrath can come near you, where no guilt can endanger you and you look forward to the day when Jesus will return to judge the world and to show his final justice.
Friends, it’s great that we are right with God,
so let’s not be ashamed of this great news,
but lets us go out to the world and tell others God’s solution to our problem and let’s remember that the Gospel, this great news,
is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes
Let’s pray,
Heavenly father, we give you thanks that while we were sinners, you sent your son to die for us so that we can be in the right with you, so that we can be redeemed. And that the penalty for our sins was paid by Jesus’ blood on the cross. Lord, we ask you that if we have not put our faith in Jesus, help us to do so and help us to do so knowing that when we put our faith in Jesus, we can be in the right with you because of what Christ did on the cross. Lord, we also pray that you might spur us to pass to message on to others. And we ask this through Jesus’ name.
Amen.
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