In this lesson, Pastor Dave Capoccia finishes going over the fundamental truths of salvation according to the Bible. In part 3, Pastor Dave explains the connection between saving faith and good works. While good works are not the root of salvation, they are the fruit; true believers will seek to become more like Christ through the process of sanctification.
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welcome to Sunday school if you’re wondering why my voice sounds a little bit different today caught a bug last week still not all the way over it I’m recovering thank the Lord but I’m gonna be a little bit lower key uh lower pitch today uh Lord willing I won’t be coughing if I do please forgive me it’s been getting better but we want to finish up with our Sunday school Series today let’s pray before we begin Heavenly Father you are our great God thank you for sending Jesus thank you for ordaining every aspect of our salvation when I pray that we would understand it in a greater way and understand Lord the effort that we are now to put into it because you have saved us help me to be able to explain this well in Jesus name amen okay in our ongoing fundamentals of the faith series we have now come to our final lesson on salvation this is salvation part three but this is also the final lesson of our course before we take a break for the summer there are 13 topics that this course addresses we’re finishing with a sixth topic of Salvation we’ll resume in September taking a break in July and August but we’ll resume with fundamentals of faith in September but in overviewing the topic of Salvation how a person is rescued from sin and death according to the Bible we’ve come to see the last two lessons two critical realities and just a little review here first though God and man play a role in Salvation who ultimately is responsible for all of it God is salvation is all of God that was the main reality that we saw but a second one what is the only active part that man plays in his own salvation say that again Glenda [Music] that’s right it’s Faith or to expand that just a little bit it is repentance and faith and those two terms can be put under one term and that’s conversion the Turning of heart as I stressed to you in our last lesson two weeks ago repentance and Faith are not really two different actions two different responses they’re two parts or two aspects of the one response towards God the one response of conversion but let’s define those terms again what is repentance yeah turning away from sin and turning to God turning away from sin and turning to God what is faith utter Reliance upon him yeah other Reliance is a good way to say it or the definition that we used two weeks ago it’s trusting in it’s clinging to or embracing Jesus Christ who is the object of our faith this is more than a knowledge about Jesus this is more an intellectual Ascent it is an entrusting it is a clinging to it is utter reliance as Mark said repentance emphasizes what you’re turning away from Faith or belief emphasizes to what you are turning and trusting in so there’s two sides of the one coin of conversion and that’s why the Bible can speak of repentance saving a person and also Faith saving a person they’re just two sides of the same coin now where in a person does conversion take place in the heart it’s in the inside it’s merely a change of heart that saves conversion happens Within but what is the relationship of outward acts like prayer public confession baptism and other righteous Deeds to conversion if conversion is what’s saved and that happens in the heart then what are these external things what are they for what how do they relate is the words that we do after conversion okay they come after conversion any other answers yeah evidence or fruits of faith so does a prayer a public confession or a set of Good Works save a person or help save a person no they don’t but will a truly saved person proceed in life without prayer public confession baptism or good works generally no some people are confused about baptism so maybe that one’s not in there but there will be a change there will be fruit if there’s been a change of heart now this is the reality that I only broached last time the end of our lesson but we’re going to look more into this today according to the Bible though a noticeably changed life a new life of Holiness is not what saves the person a truly saved person will have a noticeably changed life in some measure but what exactly does the saved and changed life look like and how might you know whether you or someone else that you care about is actually saved that’s what we want to talk about today so this is salvation part three to get us thinking more critically about this topic another little Bible quiz for you consider the famous parable of the sower in Matthew 13 verses 1 to 23. you can turn there if you like many of you know this Parable well it’s called the parable of the Soul sower in the Bible some people call it the parable of the soils you probably know this Parable well so I’m not going to read it I’m just going to summarize it for you Jesus says that A sower that is a farmer went out to sow or to scatter some seed for crops in this Farm and the seed fell in four different types of ground you have the hardened path near the field where the seeds never end up growing never enter the ground the birds just come and eat them then you have seed on rocky soil seeds grow up there quickly but they then withered due to the heat of the sun lack of nutrients then there’s a thorn-filled soil where the seeds grow but they never bear any fruit because they’re choked by the thorns and weeds and then there’s the good soil the seed Falls and it grows and it produces fruit not just fruit but a miraculous amounts of fruit Jesus says some produced 100 times some 60 times some 30 times what was sown normally this doesn’t happen but Jesus says this is what happens in this this parable now Jesus says all this is metaphorical about the word of the Kingdom in other words about the preached gospel the gospel of Salvation so now here’s my quiz two questions think of your answers don’t answer them out loud right away first how many of the four soil types represent truly saved persons and then second what is the main point of this parable so just think about a little bit hopefully you’ve come up with some initial answer let’s go through the quiz how many of the force oil types represent truly saved persons okay at least one that’s a safe answer it’s just one and which one is it good soil now why what is it that separates the fourth soil from all the other three is the fact that it has lasting fruit a lot of people are sometimes asserting that the third soil also represents a saved person but why should we not accept the thorny ground as a metaphor for a saved person what was anybody took it out of their hearts there was no food to repentance well what you said Glenn and the enemy taking away from their hearts that sounds a little bit more like the first soil to see it along the path now you did mention no fruit but you did have a plant that grew I mean it grew and it wasn’t dead by the time the parable ends so surely that’s just a safe Christian who’s not very mature right no why can we comfortably say no yeah Mark well it talks about the worries of the world and the deceivleness of wealth so that they really have a different God they haven’t really demonstrated the lordship of Christ in their lives okay I think it’s a good theological explanation specifically in Jesus explanation of the parable he says these Thorns they represent the worries of the world the worries of this life and the pleasures the person is distracted they really are serving another God but I think this will become a little bit clearer if we get back into The Agrarian mindset of that time if you’re a farmer and you have plants but they don’t produce any fruit how good are those plants for you they’re worthless actually they’re less than worthless they’re using up the ground and other more productive plants could use so when it comes to harvest time what’s it going to do with those plants that didn’t produce any fruit he’s gonna rip him out and burn them they’re not useful for anything but the ones that produce fruit he’s gonna take he’s gonna Harvest and store those away in some place good he wants to keep that now we’re not Farmers so maybe we don’t pick up on that but that’s why the third soil does not represent a saved person this is this is a plant that’s just going to be burned in the end because it didn’t produce any fruit so it’s only the fourth soil that represents a saved life this is the good soil now my second question is what is the main point of this parable what’s Jesus teaching here good say that again okay to get to know who is a real believer now why would that be useful for Jesus disciples okay yes I think Josue you’re you’re you’ve got a lot of it there so there the disciples are going to be preachers of the Gospel and as they do that how are they going to really know who’s a believer who’s a real believer because there’s going to be plenty of people who say they believe and maybe follow for a Time but how do you know who’s real this parable is really a heads up it’s an explanation as to what you can expect when you preach the gospel in faithfulness to Jesus when you give out the word of the Kingdom like a farmer sowing seed you’re going to get four main types of responses and they’re exactly what’s explained in this Parable really all the kingdom Parables that Jesus tells they have something to do with explaining the mystery of Jesus Kingdom and its delayed state in its hidden State because Jesus arrives in Israel of course and he’s ready to inaugurate the kingdom but the people reject their Messiah now this is all under the Sovereign plan of God but the kingdom is still going to come but it’s delayed but what’s going to happen in the meantime well the word of the kingdom is going to go out it’s going to have four different kinds of responses some people will not understand the gospel and they will not believe at all that’s the first soil the path in which the seed never takes root others will believe for a time but then they will fall away due to suffering or persecution that’s the rocky soil scorched by the Sun others will believe and they’ll never deny Jesus but they will remain so choked by the worries and pleasures of the world that their lives never really change and they are the thorny weedy soil but still others will believe and produce miraculous and Lasting fruit and those are the ones who understand believe and persevere in following Jesus now this is very informative this is very helpful for us even today as Christians because we too preach salvation by faith alone because that’s what the Bible teaches it’s not any works that save you you just have to believe and we’ve seen you’ve probably seen as a church we’ve seen many people wonderfully and amazingly come to profess faith in Jesus I believe in Jesus he is the Lord he is my savior maybe they’ve even gotten baptized maybe they’ve even joined this church for a Time but then some of these people haven’t lasted when life in them as Christians got too hard when their family started to reject them when they started to lose certain benefits they couldn’t do certain things anymore well they got quiet about their Christianity their convictions faded and ultimately they fell away and some others who have gone through the whole routine baptism Etc they’re changed didn’t last they fell back into Old worldly habits or maybe they never left them they were all excited for a time but they never really changed the way they lived to this day they’ve never gotten serious about following Jesus Christ and when you ask him about it they say they don’t have the time they’re too busy how are we to think about such professions of faith are these persons still saved because hey they once professed with these persons saved and then somehow unsaved did they lose their salvation or were these persons never saved at all of course from our limited perspective we can only see the outside God can look at the heart but based on what we can see based on the fruit of a person’s life what should we conclude about such persons who either believe and then fall away or believe and never really change what should we conclude no indication that they’re saved they never really see receive salvation after all Jesus says in Matthew 7 20 you will know them by their fruits and this is important if we want to understand salvation according to the Bible then we must realize the crucial relationship between faith and works and this relationship is often misunderstood and this is a terrible thing because misunderstanding the relationship between these two concepts is something that can damn your soul forever and it’s often misunderstood in one of two Soul damning ways on the one hand we must clarify that true biblical conversion is not easy believism now that’s just a term that means that as long as you have faith in Jesus it doesn’t really matter how you live you can live however you want if you never really give over your sins never really devote your life to Jesus that’s okay as long as you professed as long as you believe in your heart you’re fine no that’s not true biblical conversion but neither is biblical conversion by Good Works the salvation by works that you just reform your life live well and you’ll earn your salvation it’s your holy living that saves you oh it’s neither of those things biblical conversion is that someone is saved by repentance and faith and then as a result of this true change of heart he begins to walk Anew and growing righteousness it’s been said this way good works are not the root or the cause of salvation but they are the fruit and effect of salvation after all as we saw in our first part of this three lessons on salvation a saved person has new spiritual life from God and as we’ll talk about later they have God’s Own Spirit His Holy Spirit dwelling inside of them so a new life of Holiness not Perfection but increasing Holiness will characterize believers there’s some nuances to that which we’re going to try to explore today but fundamentally a change life must begin to characterize anyone who professes to believe in Jesus for their profession to have any weight now to see more why this is so please take your workbooks if you have them and go to page 50. we’re going to work our way through the different points in the workbook in much of our lesson today looks specifically at the bottom of page 50 question D I guess it’s more the middle of page 50.
and we’re going to go through these so this is just more biblical support behind the idea that I just presented to you question d number two it asks when freed from sin what does a Believer become according to Romans 6 18.
condemnation okay Romans 8 will talk about no condemnation but Romans 6 18 a slave of righteousness a Believer a saved person becomes a slave of righteousness and that’s a striking metaphor because what does the slavery picture indicate about that person okay he doesn’t have ownership over himself doesn’t have the right to decide things for himself that’s part of it what does the slavery picture if he’s called a slave of righteousness what does that indicate about the person it might be helpful if we contrast this with what the person was previously according to Romans 6 17 before salvation that person was a slave of sin what does it mean to be a slave of sin ativism yeah so Mike says it Reigns in that person it controls him and you know Glenda you added that everything he does is sinful there’s just this compulsion internally towards sin he is driven towards sin and so he always accomplishes sin but in conversion when God Saves a person there’s a change in that person’s nature they are no longer slaves to sin to become slaves of righteousness now that picture it should parallel at least in some measure what it meant to be a slave of sin so no longer is the person internally driven towards sin but now he’s internally driven towards righteousness towards Holiness it’s not only what he must do but it’s what he’s compelled to do from his heart we want to if we now know the Lord we want to obey and please God and that’s what we strive after God has made us slaves of righteousness now that’s great news that’s not like oh sorry you’re a slave of righteousness now but at least you get eternal life no no this is great news we’re so glad to be slaves of righteousness because with serving sin being a slave of sin was that helping us was that good for us before no why not yeah yeah so the ultimate outcome of course was bad uh the outcome is death according to the other verses In this passage but why else why else is being a slave of sin bad applied in round six there I wanted I think the shame that results from it so what outcome were you then deriving from the things of which you were now ashamed yeah okay that’s a good point mark yeah so there was certainly shame associated with it but even the question that comes in that verse what what benefit were you deriving from your previous way of life there was no benefit there’s the opposite of that you kept bringing chaos in your life you kept bringing self-destruction into your life your sinful way was dragging you down and was ultimately going to drag you down towards death there’s nothing good that came from that Old life okay yeah Romans 6 22 this really goes into question three also in our workbook what benefit results from now being a slave of righteousness everlasting life okay so it says we get the benefits of sanctification and we have the ultimate outcome eternal life you know it’s such foolishness to think that the best life is the one where you get Jesus as fire insurance but then you still get to live however you want oh because first of all that’s not how God’s salvation works and second of all as we were just saying the life of sin and self-serving is a horrible life it never satisfies it’s poisonous it’s self-destructive but the life of knowing and following Jesus Christ even amid persecution and trials that’s the good life that’s the life of wisdom and joy that’s the truly free life it’s not free from trials it’s not the Prosperity Gospel but that’s knowing god and following his way that’s the way of blessing that’s the way of joy and those who are truly converted who repent and believe in Jesus they will because God has changed their nature they will start living that kind of life and not apart from their own will and effort this is not let go and let God I’m a slave of righteousness now so I’m just gonna sit and wait for God to Just Produce all this righteousness in me it’s not how it works as a Christian you are called to fight to labor to strive to put sin to death and become more like Jesus yet even that effort even your willing doesn’t ultimately come from you that working to obey Jesus is a is empowered and motivated by God himself nevertheless you have your responsibility now this really is not a depressing aspect of Salvation this is one of the amazing and glorious aspects of our Salvation God has not saved us by good works but two good works in Christ we can now live righteously which is because we know Jesus Christ exactly what we want to do we want to be pleasing to Christ we want to become more like him Ephesians 2 10 which is comes right after that famous verse that we love to quote because we believe in the gospel Ephesians 2 8 and 9 for by Grace you have been saved and this I’m sorry I shouldn’t rush for by Grace you have been saved through faith and this not of yourselves it is the gift of gods that no one may bow salvation by faith and faith alone all a gift from God Ephesians 2 10.
for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them congratulations you’re safe now you get to do the good works that God has prepared for you wonderful that’s great but we need to clarify a few things don’t misunderstand real Christians will continue to sin As Romans 7 says the flesh the old sin principle The Law of sin as he calls it it is still with us though we have the power of God present with us though we have a new nature so that in theory we could always overcome sin by faith the reality is we will not do that inevitably at times we will not draw upon the power of God we will not pursue Jesus by faith and we will sin which is why first John says if anybody says he doesn’t have any sin he’s a liar we’re going to continue to sin but we have an advocate we have forgiveness of our sins and by the way it’s not just oh you know Christian’s still sending some always no sometimes Christians can even send real Christians can even send in horrible ways long lasting ways they can get into a season of sin for a long period of time and we know this because we see this in the Bible the Old Testament and New Testament you got people who love God or true Saints King David commit some horrible sins in the episode with Bathsheba and that took place over nine months a year longer without any repentance think about Solomon how many years of his wife a life was he slipping into more and more idolatry and polygamy and yet he authored some of our books in the scripture and Ecclesiastes is an expression of his repentance near the end of his life and then in the New Testament look at the Corinthian Church I mean if you just look at the book of First Corinthians you’re like this church has got problems I was like you get a misunderstanding this and you’re tolerating this sin and you’re sinning in this way and look at your pride and divisions and yeah how does he address them at the beginning of the book he calls them saints holy ones and same thing as II Corinthians he calls them saints even though they are just as a church sinned against them in a pretty profound way he calls them saints Christians still will sin and sometimes even in terrible and long-lasting ways nevertheless slaves to sin is not what we are anymore we have a new nature after God’s Own sometimes people talk about Christians having a sin nature I get what they mean but I don’t think that’s biblically accurate you have a new nature after God’s Own you have the flesh the sin principle kind of attached to you as an appendage an unnatural appendage but that’s not who you are you are a new creation in Christ thus we Christians true Christians are never content simply to remain in sin they might do it for a Time but that’s not where they stay sin Grieves us it Grieves the spirit that God has put in US we ultimately hate sin and we fight to be rid of it we want to become more like Jesus really true Christians they don’t just repent and believe to become saved one time in their lives but they become engaged in a lifestyle of repentance and faith repenting of and putting to death sin in their lives as they become aware of it as their sins appear that becomes characteristic of them it’s not that they never sin but now when they sin they truly repent of it and they also take Again by faith Jesus and his promises believing in Christ and his promises is what becomes characteristic of Jesus I mean of Christians and this new lifestyle of repentance and faith it is part of a Believer becoming gradually transformed more and more into the image of Christ perfection is not going to happen in this lifetime for any of you but by God’s grace you will become if you are a true Christian you will become more and more like Jesus you’re going to be conformed more and more to the image of Christ this is God’s plan this is what God does and we see this summarize well for us in second Corinthians 3 18. second Corinthians 3 18.
Paul says but we all with unveiled face unlike the Jews who are still looking at God through a veil but we all with unveiled Faith beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as from the Lord the spirit we’re beholding Jesus and we’re becoming more and more like him that is a summary of the Christian Life and what I’m describing to you is something theologians often call Progressive sanctification and it’s really what the workbook describes with its definition at near the bottom of page 50 where it says sanctification is the process of being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ Christians are not sinless but true Christians are being conformed more and more to the image of Jesus Christ they are being Sanctified they are pursuing sanctification God is doing it but he’s doing it through the will and effort of Christians sanctifications the process of being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ so if you are truly converted by repentance and Faith this morning then you also have entered into this process of sanctification and you are not to halt your progress your dogged pursuit of Jesus until Christ comes to get you now this aspect of sanctification has a lot to do with your Assurance of salvation how you know you really belong to God how you know you really are saved and going to be with him forever but understand as many good preachers have said I think you’ve heard it many times here in this church as well your Assurance should not be bolstered by the Perfection of your life but by the direction of your life what is your direction is your life all about Jesus are you gradually becoming more and more like him are you pursuing him genuinely and according to the Bible you should take comfort because you are saved and safe in him but if Jesus is not the direction of your life not really well it’s time to repent and believe for real because you probably are not a Christian and you’re still in sin and under the wrath of God no matter what you profess on the outside now here’s why I need to make another clarification I’m saying a lot today about how true salvation is proved by its fruit but does that mean that our Assurance of salvation our security in Jesus and rests ultimately on how holyly we live our lives is that ultimately where our Assurance comes from I would say no though a progressively more christ-like life plays an important role in our assurance on what ultimately does our confidence of Salvation rest faith faith in Jesus Christ and this should only make sense if faith in Christ if just faith in Christ is what saves then faith in Christ ought to be the foundation of the surety of our salvation do you holy entrust yourself to Jesus Christ do you have conviction that he is the only Savior and Lord even your Savior and Lord do you love Jesus more than anything else if your heart answers yes to these things and the Bible says you have eternal life look at the repentance Thief and Luke 23.
when he expresses faith in Jesus he has no new life of Good Works to point to to prove his genuineness of his faith the thief’s life is about to be cut short by execution he is nothing that he can offer to Jesus and be like see Jesus I really mean it but he is entrusting himself to Jesus and Jesus vindicates his faith by assuring that repentant Thief that that very day the two of them would be together in Paradise or I think of Peter Peter who commits Grievous repeated sin against Jesus by denying him especially in Jesus most desperate hour when he has that conversation again with Jesus in John 21 and Jesus asked Peter three times do you love me Peter can’t Point anything to show that he loves Jesus it can’t be like Jesus you know that I love you because look at this thing that I did the most recent thing is all the denials he made of Jesus but what appeal does he make to Jesus ultimately Jesus you know all things you know that I love you I think the reason we see those examples is because ultimately your Assurance of Salvation your salvation it rests on faith your simple faith in Jesus Christ your change of heart towards him a person who has a change of heart about Jesus who converts who repents and believes he can even without a new life of Works to point to he can immediately take assurance that he is forever saved and safe with the Lord I’m going to say more about this and then I’ll give you more time for a question and comments now this truth is important because it’s part of what separates biblical Christianity from all the works-based religions of the world I mean don’t you think it’d be a little weird that if we end up saying the same thing about Assurance as really all the other false religions do all the supposedly good people of the world they think they will obtain Heaven because they are moral because they do more good than bad is that the reason that we believe that we’re going to be saved we do not plead our good works at Heaven’s Gate as they might rather we plead nothing but the blood of Jesus it’s not my perfect record Lord that should cause you to show me your favor it’s not even my record of improvement since coming to Faith In Jesus I only plead the life and death and resurrection of Jesus on my behalf and I’m confident that a holy and just God will accept his plea because he said he would no one’s good works are getting them into heaven it’s only faith in Jesus that saves I think this truth is also important to clarify because it shows us that wrestling with sin struggling with sin and not always overcoming should not automatically cause one to lose his assurance some Christians think that if they ever commit a serious sin or if they ever struggle to overcome a habit of sin it must mean they are not saved they say to themselves for surely no true Christian would ever struggle with what I’m struggling with or whatever struggle in the way that I’m struggling that seems like a pie of sentiment but you know what Brethren it’s not true again we can just look at the scriptures and we see true Saints in the Bible struggling pretty severely with different sins for different lengths of time I mean look at Elijah one of the most celebrated prophets of the Old Testament and he gets so depressed so hopeless about the future that he asked God to kill him he runs away from his ministry he goes all the way from Israel the northern part of Palestine to Mount Sinai and the Sinai Peninsula in the Egypt territory and that’s just one example the flesh is still with us we are all still growing into the image of Christ the question is not whether you sin or whether you struggle to overcome certain sins the question is if you really believe in Jesus what are you going to do now with your sin struggle are you just going to give up you’re gonna throw in the towel contradiction of the scripture you’re going to say to yourself my sin is inevitable it’s part of who I am I cannot change or are you going to keep fighting you’re going to learn from your failures failures you’re going to get help from others in the church you’re going to employ more and more resources until you do find Victory in Jesus Christ I think it’s telling that in that conversation with Jesus and Peter Jesus doesn’t just say hey Peter do you love me okay I see that you love me okay great we can move on now he keeps calling Peter back to faithfulness all right you love me feed my Lambs tend my sheep be ready even ultimately to die for me and Peter accepts that as a pastor and a Biblical counselor I often discover that Believers in the church are struggling with serious sins but I’ll automatically say to myself it must not be saved that’s why they’re struggling in this way no I seek to disciple them with the Bible I call on them to change and if they’re true Christians they will change though it may take some time it takes some patient instruction it may take some rooting out different wrong ideas or cherished idols it’s only when I see that someone is not willing to change and not willing to put forth the effort that will bring about change that I am then ready to suggest to a person do you really know the Lord Christians at times will struggle with sin but it’s not where they stay you seem intent on staying there that’s what an unbeliever does do you really know the Lord so understand that a believer’s Assurance of Salvation ultimately rests on faith not works nevertheless works are important and a lack of a serious pursuit of Christ through good works should undermine anyone’s attempt to find Assurance in simple faith truth of the scriptures is that genuine faith is always accompanied by works new holy ways of thinking speaking and acting say Dave I think you’re contradicting yourself I think these might be intention but they’re not really contradictory your Assurance ultimately must rest on faith and yet if there’s no change in your life if there’s no new works no new fruit to speak of it’s going to take that Assurance by faith and say do you really have the right to that I’m not sure because look no fruit in fact it’s interesting this is the way the wisdom of the scriptures that when you have certain people in the New Testament especially asserting works works works in fact if you really love Jesus you’re going to get circumcised you’re going to keep all the law of Moses what did the apostles say no faith alone faith alone you keep going after those Works you’re gonna be cut off from Christ and then on the other side you get people saying hey faith faith faith no Works don’t worry about it you can keep living in sin it’s all about faith what do you hear from the apostles then no you got to get some Works in there that faith is dead if it doesn’t have works I think both those things exist together but never to the point of saying oh Works complete your salvation or the part of earning salvation no they’re just the expected fruit they are the commanded outcome of salvation so the next section in the workbook it breaks down this truth of Works accompanying true salvation by examining three categories of new fruit and we’re going to go through these this is the bottom of page 50 if you have the workbook if you don’t have the workbook talk to one of the greeters and just follow along with us today so this is under number three evidence of salvation the statement at the bottom of page 50 says three important evidences of a True Believer are faith that works love that labors and hope that endures and this summary statement comes from first Thessalonians 1 verses 2 to 4 which says we give thanks to God always for all of you making mention of you in our prayers constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of Hope in our Lord Jesus Christ and the presence of our God and Father knowing Brethren Love by God is choice of you so Paul is able to give thanks for these Brethren and thessalonica as genuine Saints because he sees their changed heart manifest in new fruit in their lives and identifies these three categories so let’s look at each one of these phrases I’ll do this somewhere briefly just going over the answers in the word book first under a faith that works number one what reveals genuine Faith according to James 2 18.
one’s works that’s right near that section where it says the faithful that works is dead what reveals genuine Faith according to First Peter 1 6 and 7.
testing by trial how do you stand up under trial how do you respond to being tested by fire by the way when you go through a hard time and hold fast to the Lord that proven faith that should provide an encouraging boost to your assurance and it’s a great testimony to the world because you know the only way that you endured was Christ in you which means that you belong to him so there’s a weird way in which trials ultimately result in your comfort when you endure them through the power of Christ you say I really do belong to the Lord and the world can see that too yeah or is it um I see a number of Christians who don’t seem prepared for testing or think that’s part of the deal do you think somewhat of a rhetorical question that relates back to what salvation is and the lordship aspect of it in other words when you become a Christian we need to be really clear that you have to set aside the favor of people right and I and I see a number of Christians do that that whole lordship aspect isn’t emphasized and so it’s like I think this is the same passage that says don’t act as if this is this is a surprise right yeah I just feel like in evangelism we should make that clear so that it’s less of a surprise right yeah I think you’re right Mark so the question is some people seem very surprised by trials even losing the favor of other people is this because they were improperly um taught or explained about the lordship that is required in order to repent and believe and I think that’s true it’s so funny that we are always so surprised by trials we are often surprised by trials even as Christians even though the New Testament is saying like that’s exactly what’s going to happen I’m telling you you’re going to have trials especially because you believe in me the world’s gonna hate you because they hated me first and then what happens we’re like I don’t understand what’s going on so I think yes part of it is because people haven’t learned that or even though they learned it they somehow don’t believe it’s true until it happens to them but we would do well to inform people of the cost when we are trying to evangelize them it’s all worth it but you gotta know people are gonna hate you they’re gonna persecute you I know there are other questions comments but actually I’m afraid that we won’t have enough times to hang on to them I I we might have time at the end but I don’t know let me uh let me keep moving here uh okay number two on page 51 for what did God prepare Believers going to Ephesians 2 10 we actually read that verse good works God prepared us for good works as a result of our faith number three Titus 3 8 says that those who have believed in God should do what and why yeah continuing good works be engaged in good works and why these things are good and profitable for men it says and here again I think is really interesting I emphasized this a little bit earlier but Believers Paul says that Believers must be careful to engage in Good Deeds they must be purposeful about it they must seek it out it’s totally opposite the idea that some Believers get some Christians say that there should be no effort applied in sanctification if you’re applying effort that means you’re a legalist trying to do things on your own strength and it’s never going to result in in anything good you should just be swept Along by love for God and the power of His spirit and God will just move you to do what’s right and you’ll be just surprised when it happens no God will move you to do what’s right but it is not apart from your own effort you must fight you must strive and it’s God working in you to do that none of this let go let God this hyper Grace I’m just going to be so moved by the holy spirit it’s going to be so easy sometimes it is easy sometimes it’s hard but you know what you can do it you can do it by faith in Jesus Christ you have a faith that works B I love that labors number one besides Faith what else does God take note of in The Believer according to Hebrews 6 10.
okay it’s going to be love especially in what context you would love to get it okay he won’t forget it love shown to his people and the verse talks about God is Not So unjustice to forget your work and to love which you have shown toward his name in having ministered and instill ministering to the Saints so love to God that results in love for people especially the Brethren what is the source of love this is number two what is the source of love in the life of a Believer according to Romans 5 5.
[Music] yes it’s God it’s God’s love being poured out into us by his holy spirit God is the source of love he enables us or he caught he moves us to love him and love other people number three what is it true what is true of a person who is born of God first John 4 7-8 this is one of the places we hear in the New Testament God is love so what is true of a person who is born of God that’s right a person is going to love others also he’s going to love God he’s going to love other people especially Believers and if you don’t love other people don’t say you know God because God is love number four how does a True Believer show love according to First John 3 18-19 that’s right heck and I see you did these beforehand I appreciate that the verse says little children let us not love with word over tongue but indeed and truth and that’s not to say that love is not manifest in words at all no your words are an important way to show love but it can’t be merely words that’s not backed up with action this is just like what James says in James 2 15-16 James 2 15-16 if a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food and one of you says them go in peace be warm to be filled and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body what use is that say oh that’s so hard oh I hope you find the food and the clothes you’re looking for and you have food and clothes that you could give them you don’t give them then you’re not loving them no matter what you say yes you should love with your words but back those words up with action if you really want to love the way that God has called you to and by the way we can get into little misunderstandings what it really means to love people often by going too far one side it’s the other but if you really want to know what love that labors looks like who’s your best example Jesus Christ in fact this is what he commands John 15 12-13 John 15 12-13 this is my commandment that you love one another just as I have loved you if you think you’re loving other people just take a little moment be like but let me look at Jesus am I loving the way that Jesus loves he loves me and that he loves others that will be clarifying see hope that endures number one who did Jesus say will be saved according to Matthew 10 22 yes those who endure to the end even amid suffering of persecution it’s those and those alone who will be saved number two what gives us our motivation to endure according to First Timothy 4 10.
that’s right God himself is our motivation and what he promised to us is gives us our steadfastness to endure number three describe the hope that a Christian has I’ll do these just for the sake of time Galatians 5 5 says that Christians have the hope of righteousness we expect Vindication justification from God first Thessalonians 5 8 says that Christians have the hope of Salvation we expect salvation from God and Titus 3 7 says that Christians have the hope of eternal life we expect eternal life from God now I notice I keep using the word expect that’s because when the New Testament uses the word hope this is the idea of confident expectation not like I hope maybe no this is confident expectation we know that if we will endure we can go into the hard work and suffering for the Lord’s sake because we have a confident expectation that the Lord will give us his righteousness his salvation and eternal life and this is the mark of a true Christian Point D ties these together the three that abide go into Colossians 1 4 and 5.
it’s the same list I won’t go through the verse but he notes this similar group of Believers how does he know that they know God well their faith in Christ their love for all the saints and their trust and hope laid up for them in heaven now it’s appropriate for us considering the um the prominence of these three phases phrases in the New Testament but for us to consider whether this characterizes us and characterizes our church do we have a faith that works a love that labors and a hope then endures if we are in Christ we should have these in some measure and are we growing in these qualities are we even applying disciplined effort to do so in the application section I’ll just have to summarize this it is interesting that so many times in the New Testament you have these Grand statements about what God is accomplishing has accomplished in Salvation but the response the called on response from Believers is often the same which is get to work walking Worthy based on the Salvation you’ve received as Philippians 2 12-13 says Philippians 2 12-13 so that my beloved just as you’ve always obeyed not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who is at work in you both the will and to work for his good pleasure Pastor Bobby went through this last week or last time he preached and he’s going to go through it again today you are a new creature you have died to sin so now what should you do put sin to death in your life no longer present yourself as an instrument of unrighteousness but an instrument of righteousness you have a responsibility you have a calling you must apply effort you must deny yourself discipline yourself for this this is the only appropriate response what God has accomplished in Salvation again this is not let go let God this is you fighting a good fight of Faith because of what God has done for you show yourself to be saved by disciplining yourself in the pursuit of godliness and the pursuit of Christ like this because it saves you but because this is what Christ has called you to do and it will result in buoyed assurance okay I did want to add three answers to frequently asked questions related to Salvation I thought there’d be more time for questions at the end but that’s often a foolish notion for me but at least we’ll go through these these three questions three frequently asked questions regarding salvation I think would be helpful to go over number one can a Believer ever lose his salvation answer no if that person is a True Believer phenomenologically speaking that is the way we see things from the outside we will see in this life certain professing Believers Fall Away and this is just a parable of the sower being fulfilled Jesus said that this would happen on the outside it looks like someone is losing Christ losing salvation spiritually speaking behind the scenes the Bible tells us such persons were never saved they were never good soil and that’s why they fell away first John 2 19 says they went out from us but they were not really of us for if they had been of us they would have remained with us but they went out so to be shown they are not all of us since God is Sovereign over salvation and does everything whomever he chooses to save not only will come to repentance and Faith but will also persevere in Repentance and faith so if God has saved you if you’re confident of that if that is the conviction of your heart well he will cause you to persevere to the end not apart from your own effort and endurance but he’s the one energizing you so if you believe have confidence in the Lord’s promises but keep following after and clinging to Christ because if that is your Pursuit you know he’s going to hold you fast your salvation will never be lost nothing will separate you from the love of Christ another question if a Believer is struggling with Assurance what is the best way to help him he’s not sure whether he’s saved how do you help him well answer you’re gonna need to investigate patiently before you give counsel to this person gotta find out does he misunderstand salvation does he misunderstand sanctification does he have a sin struggle in his life that he’s not overcome that’s going to eat away it is Assurance has he never believed the gospel at all based on what you discover you’ll know how to minister to that person but above all avoid trying to provide Assurance personally to that person brother I know that you are saved so you should just believe it do you really know that the other person is saved you might be providing false assurance only God ultimately sees the heart it’s not your rightful role to give Assurance that’s God’s Rule and he does that by the Holy Spirit you simply Minister the scriptures tell them what scripture promises and allow him to find comfort in that as the holy spirit moves him help a brother repent and believe if necessary but let the Holy Spirit provide the Assurance don’t try and provide it personally yourself and then finally how should you approach a professing Believer who lacks the spiritual fruit of salvation this is a question with some specifics that will vary depending on the situation and relationship generally though if you know or meet somebody like this you should try to get to know the person better understand them what’s going on in their life and heart But ultimately you’re going to need as the Lord provides opportunity you’re going to need to call that person to repentance and faith either as a Believer who needs to grow in sanctification or as an unbeliever who needs to receive salvation for the first time I mean ultimately it’s going to be the same you got to tell them to repent and believe help them to repent and believe but it may be because the person is not saved at all something I do find interesting in the New Testament in the pattern of Jesus and the apostles when it comes to evangelizing Jews and their the ancient equivalent to evangelizing professing Christians today something interesting about Jesus and the apostles when talking to Jews is that they always Point people to God’s character and commands and then in one way or another they ask you say you love God and why aren’t you like him say you love the Lord why don’t you do what he says why do you seem to devote so little time to him and to the pursuit of him so we could say the same to people today why do you think so little of Jesus that he’s not really even part of your life or conversation why don’t you do what Jesus calls you to do now don’t assume that every professing Christian with a struggling spiritual life is an unbeliever some people are just very immature poorly taught caught up in a sin but also remember Jesus words many you call me Lord will be denied on the last day because they never really repented and believed they still love lawlessness and they’re walking in it just know that if you do this and you are faithful if you do this when you confront sin like this in professing Believers even if you do so gently lovingly only after a time a patiently examining this person you will many times get the same response and that is you will be accused of legalism I’m trying to enforce on them salvation by works you unloving judgmental legalist how dare you say this to me that’s not a fair response that’s not true but it’s an easy defense to make it’s an easy way to dismiss what a person’s saying and quiet that conviction all you can do a response is to pray and patiently explain the scriptures like I’m not being legalistic I’m just trying to explain what the Bible says this is what it means to believe in Jesus this is what repentance actually is this is not some additional requirement of Salvation this is the gospel trying to help you understand it ultimate of the Lord though has to change the heart okay I’m sure there are more questions but we’re out of time so if you have questions you can come talk with me afterwards but that is it for today and that is it for the next two months remember no Sunday School in July and August but we will be returning with fundamentals of the faith in September with our next topic the person and Ministry of lowly’s the Holy Spirit a lot of confusion about the Holy Spirit today so that’s an important topic please make sure you’re back in September for that let me close this in prayer Lord God though we are so grateful for how you have changed us we’re not the same people that we were we don’t walk in the same sins that we used to we don’t struggle the way that we used to yeah God we admit we are still we are still sinners we still don’t reach your standard on Perfection we still are not completely conformed into the image of Christ but we’re grateful God that that’s not the reason that we’re Justified it’s all about Jesus it’s all about what Jesus has done on our behalf it’s his life death and resurrection that we plead so God we praise you we praise you that we do belong to you because we believe in Jesus and yet God we desire it is our Earnest desire to prove our love to show God that we are earnest in our Pursuit Of You by becoming more like you so help us God to do that and help us to help one another to do that and help us to be bold enough and loving enough to reach out to professing Christians who may not really know you and are indicating that by life without any fruit help us God to be bold enough to speak with them and Lord then you would be pleased in your kindness to Grant repentance either unto salvation or just under further sanctification bless your people today as we Fellowship as we worship and as we hear more from your word for your own namesake amen thank you