The First Letter of Peter- 9

Subtitle: Our Witness before the World- Part 1

1 Peter 2:11-15.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, January 18, 2026.

In some ways, we can continue to see this passage as Peter talking about all the ways that this new spiritual people are to live out their faith.  However, Peter begins to emphasize the way that our life of faith affects the unbelieving world around us.  This is why I have subtitled this part of the series, “Our Witness before the World.”  This major section of Peter’s letter goes from 1 Peter 2:11-4:11.

Let’s look at our passage.

Abstain from fleshly lusts (v. 11-12)

This small section connects back to an earlier command but also serves to transition into this issue of the world around us.  In chapter 1 verse 14, Peter had challenged them not to be conformed to the former lusts that they had in their ignorance, i.e., before they believed in Jesus.  They had been living for themselves like everyone else in their society.  Now, they are following Jesus and learning to be holy as he is holy.

God’s plan to fix humanity’s sin problem is for us to put our faith in Jesus, live a mortal life fighting sin by faith, and then He will finish the work by Resurrecting us with glorified, heavenly bodies.  Of course, the world is feverishly trying to come up with a different plan.  Ultimately, it is taking us down a path of trying to overcome every obstacle of creation in order to perfect ourselves.  At the root of the human problem is the idea that God cannot be trusted.  His creation cannot be trusted.  We must do it for ourselves!  Instead of accepting the grace of God’s help, we choose to try and make “god” ourselves.  This will not end well.  Imagine the hubris of thinking that fallen mortals can make a perfect immortal.

Chapter 1 ended with the metaphor of an imperishable seed.  Humans are like grass, here today and gone tomorrow.  However, the Word of the Lord endures forever.  We have entered into this mortal grass-existence.  However, by faith in Jesus, we can participate in the immortal and imperishable existence of Jesus, the Word of God.

This led to the beginning of chapter two where Peter tells us to lay aside things like malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.  These are specific lusts.

This brings us back to verse 11.  Lusts are strong, heated desires that have their source in our body.  We cannot let these strong desires rule over us.  Thus, Peter tells us to abstain from them.  In English, the idea of abstaining is often seen in voting.  A person can vote “yea,” or “nay,” or they can refuse to vote, abstain from voting.  This can be out of protest, or it can be out of protecting future opportunities. 

Regardless, the Greek word that it is used to translate literally means to have these lust away from yourself.  It ties in with the idea of taking off the deeds of the flesh and putting on the character of Christ.  In fact, Paul gives quite the list in Galatians 5:19-21.  He tells us that they are obvious.

Notice that Peter urges them to do this.  The New King James Version says “I beg you…”  Peter feels strongly about this.  The word pictures one who calls you to their side in order to exhort you strongly about something.

He also tells them to abstain from fleshly lusts like foreigners and exiles.  This image was used earlier as well.  He is not just using this image of the Jews among them.  He is also speaking to the Gentiles.  You may be in your homeland but to put your faith in Jesus is to choose to be a part of the exiles of Christ.  We become strangers in a land that is familiar to us.

This is one of the classic tests of character.  A person who is in a place where no one knows them can be tempted to do as the Romans (when in Rome…).  This is a common way for a spouse to take their first step of unfaithfulness.

We recognize that all of humanity is in exile from God.  But in Jesus, we become exiles with a promise of a promised land.  God is in the business of bringing people out of exile into His Promised Land.

We can be blind to all the ways that our culture is pulling us away from Christ, so Peter has focused on fleshly lusts.

Peter also describes these fleshly lusts as waging war against our soul.  This is a war of possession.  Your flesh wants control of you.  It will be all about the pursuit of satisfying its urges.  However, Jesus has called us to take a stand against it. He stated in Luke 21:19, “By your perseverance, take possession of your souls.”  If you let your flesh and its strong desires win, then you will find yourself in bondage to it.  The longer this goes on the harder it will be to break this bondage.  Yet, all things are possible with God!

The lusts of our flesh can wear us down.  We can grow weary of denying them and casting them aside.  On top of this, the world around us cajoles us, even badgers us, towards living a life of satisfying our lusts.

This internal battle will have an outward effect, which he turns to next.

“Keep your behavior excellent among the nations.”  The inner battle leads to external behavior, or conduct.  This is seen and even experienced by the world, the nations, in which we live.  This is really the same command with parallel language.

What is excellent behavior?  Peter clearly means excellent by God’s definition and not by the definition of the world around you.  This word excellent has the idea of good as well as a moral good.  It is connected to beauty.  Can we live in a way that is beautiful and morally good to God?  Jesus is the pattern and the help for us to do so.

They are to do this in the face of slander.  Early Christians were slandered a lot, whether ignorantly or maliciously.  Some of the slanders were as follows:

1. Communion was often described as a ritual of eating the flesh and drinking the flesh of babies.
2. Their times of communion involved a meal called the love feast.  It was common to claim that these were nothing more than orgies (gluttony on food and sexual immorality). 
3. Christians were accused of being antisocial because they didn’t participate in the entertainments of the culture.
4. They were also accused of being atheists because they didn’t worship all of the gods.

Such slanders are done because they tend to be effective upon weak people.  It can affect some by causing them to be angry and respond in an unchristian way.  It affects others by stirring fear in their heart.  The fleshly lust of being accepted, approved by others, can lead us away from Christ and into the world.

Christians should not be quick to believe statements about others that we have not personally observed.  Of course, we shouldn’t overly defend people that we do not know either.  Have you noticed that we are a society that is pushed to and fro by slanders and libels galore?  This is a part of the sinful culture in which we live.  Can I continue to abstain from fleshly lusts when others around me deploy them against me?

No matter how the world describes our actions, we are to live out the excellent behavior that Christ leads us to do.  Like the good Samaritan, we do the right thing whether others do or not. 

Again, they may malign us, but here is the main thing.  Peter says that they will observe our good deeds.  Have you ever thought that God gives us sacrificial things to do in order to get the attention of the world and to be a witness to it?  They need to see us doing Christ-like things!  They may be perplexed at why you don’t do what they do, and they may even be angry that you are not like them.  Yet, they will see us doing the righteousness of Christ nonetheless.

Peter then says that they will glorify God in the day of visitation.  This visible evidence of the work of God’s Spirit within us will have an effect one way or another.

The day of visitation mentioned here simply means a day when God shows up, whether for good or bad.  This can be contemplated in the ultimate sense when all the wicked are brought before Jesus for judgment.  How will they glorify God then?  They will recognize in the moment that they were wrong and that we were right.  As they declare that Jesus is Lord, they are also declaring that His work in us was true.

It is also possible to see the day of visitation in regard to the times that the Spirit of God touches a person’s heart and mind.  This visitation of grace begs the question.  What will you do with this Jesus?  When we demonstrate the goodness of Christ to a sinful world, some of them may glorify God by putting their faith in Jesus at a later date.  This is the best revenge upon enemies.  Show them Jesus and give them the opportunity to become a part of the new spiritual people of God, a brother!

Submit to every human institution (v. 13-15)

Peter now focuses particularly upon human authority structures in our lives.  These people were not under the authority of these United States of America.  They were under the Roman Empire and the Roman Emperor, Caesar.  This was a dictatorship with local governors and magistrates serving the purposes of Caesar.

We have talked about this word “submit” in the past.  It refers to taking your proper place under a particular authority.  It does not mean to obey every command.  This is exampled by Peter and the apostles in Acts 5.  They were told by the authorities to stop teaching about Jesus.  Peter stated, “We must obey God rather than men.”  How did they take their proper place under authority?  They did not obey the command that was contrary to God, but they did submit to the arrests and beatings.  They did not use the arrogance of these human authorities as a justification for fighting back with weapons.  In fact, we saw this during the arrest of Jesus.  Jesus had done exactly what God had commanded him to do.  However, he submitted to their arrest.

We are not going to fix the authorities of this world through revolution, swords, and guns.  Christians are not called to be purposefully rebelling against authorities.  However, we are not called to blind obedience to them either.  We are called to be like Christ, to share his Gospel.  We image the good Character of Christ.  What they do with us between them and Christ.

The Roman Empire no longer exists today.  That is the judgment of Jesus Christ!  And, if we are not careful, the judgment of Jesus Christ may cause the United States of America to no longer exist. 

The only thing that can fix the authorities is for enough of this Republic to repent, trust the Word of God in Jesus, and to live out that faith boldly.  In truth, to submit to the human authorities is to submit to the authority of Jesus.

In all of this, we must be led by the Holy Spirit.  Men like Jeremiah were accused of not submitting to the government because they didn’t like what he was saying.  Jeremiah did what he did for the Lord.  This is what Peter means when he says for us to submit “for the Lord’s sake.”  We can be led by God to be a rebuke to authorities all the while staying in proper submission to the authority they have.

We may not feel like doing this, but we do it for Jesus.  Jesus is King over Ceasar, over the POTUS, over any leader of a nation today.  We may ask why God let’s some of them do wicked things.  It is because He gives people time to see the error of their ways, to see His people living righteously in spite of their evil.  Yet, in the end, Jesus does judge these nations.  Do you not realize that most nations today are less than 200 years old?  As these United States of America approach 250 years since our formation, we should do so with great humility and repentance.

Regardless of the level of the authority, we respect the command of Christ.  These authorities are responsible for punishing evildoers and praising those who do right.  They may do a horrible job at this.  They may even have totally corrupted the processes that were set up to ensure this.  Yet, God will have the final word.

We are not under the Roman Empire.  The average American does not understand how authority works in this Republic.  We tend to believe that the citizens have the least authority, then the cities and counties, then the States, and finally, the Federal government is the top authority.  Those who crafted the wording of the Constitution would be perplexed at how ignorant we are in these matters.

If you think of authority as a sphere of operation, then we can recognize that a man and woman would have authority over their home and what happens in it.  This is a sphere in which the State and the federal government had no authority.  These other groups may have more power than you and can abuse that power, but in the end, they have no authority over your home.

They did not see the federal government as above or below the State governments.  Some of the powers invested in the States were delegated to the federal government.  It was a delegated authority.  The federal government is the highest authority only in those enumerated spheres that we stipulate in the Constitution.  Anything outside of that is an abuse of power without proper authority.

In those spheres that were not given to the federal government, the States would be the highest authority, but only if the people of those States had given them that sphere of authority in their State constitutions.

All authority is given by We the People through constitutions to our State and federal servants.  If a particular authority is not stipulated in a constitution, then it is retained by the people.

This brings up the question of sovereignty.  Jesus is the capital S Sovereign of these United States.  However, We the People are the little s sovereign of this land.  We need to always be asking who have We the People made to be the proper authority in this area?  We need to also ask, “What is God’s purpose?”

If we are willing to do anything in order to “fix” the government, then we will find it is easier said than done.  This is a spiritual problem not a political problem.  Many evildoers have pushed themselves into our authority structures.  In those structures, they have arrogated powers to themselves that were never properly given them.  Until We the People repent and call our elected servants to heel, corruption and wickedness will rule over the land.  This will only bring the judgment of Christ against this great Republic.

In the end, Peter states that God wants us to submit to the authorities in order to silence the ignorance of foolish men.  Many of these foolish men are not Christians, but some of them are.  Those who do not accept the truth of the authority of Jesus have a vested interest in maligning His Church.  On top of this, certain parts of the Church have not followed this admonition perfectly in the past.

God is teaching this world about righteousness and freedom.  We can work in harmony with that teaching, or we can be at odds with what God is doing through Jesus.

This is where controlling the fleshly lusts can help us.  Much of politics is about manipulating the fleshly lusts of the populace in order to gain power against an opponent.  We can be manipulated to work against our own best interests!  No politician and no political party can fix this land.  Only a repentant people surrendered to the authority of Jesus can be truly set free from the bondage into which they have fallen.  That will transform our society!

Our Witness 1 audio

The Kingdom of God- 5

Subtitle:  Our Battle in the Kingdom

Ephesians 2:1-10.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on April 13, 2025.

Today, we are going to identify some enemies of the Kingdom of God and anyone who is a part of it.  We need to see these in our own life and learn how to deal with them.

Let’s look at our passage.

Our enemies (v. 1-3)

When we talk about enemies as Christians, it is important to recognize a huge shift from the Old Covenant with Israel through Moses and the New Covenant with “whosoever will” through Jesus.

Israel was commanded to go into a specific area that had been judged by God.  Thus, there were literal battles between Israel, representing God’s people, and the nations that were in rebellion against God.  Israel would be a sword to some nations, but also a revelation of the One True God to the nations surrounding the area that God had given to them.  In other words, Israel was not trying to take over the world, nor were they commanded to do so by God. 

Yet, even in the Old Testament, we see that these enemies were not the only enemies Israel faced.  There were Israelites who were unfaithful to God and misled the people.  There is even a testimony from the prophets that there wasn’t one of them that was totally righteous before God.

God shows anyone with eyes to see through His interactions with Israel that no amount of fighting bad people, bad nations, and stamping out the sinners in their own nation, would fix this world.

Yet, in the New Testament, the command of Christ to his disciples does regard battles and going to the ends of the earth, but it is not about fighting physical enemies and taking physical territory.  The battle is more about the spiritual enemies that are keeping the world captive to sin. 

This highlights a common mistake that atheists will make.  They will challenge Christians with a statement like this.  “Your God commands you to kill homosexuals!  How can you defend that!”  Of course, they have clearly not understood the message of the Church, and more importantly, Jesus Christ.  The New Testament presents that all people (including Israel) are sinners in bondage to sin.  All are guilty before God and deserve death, rather than salvation.  Yet, God sends us Jesus.  He is the divine intervention that helps us in this tragic predicament.  Yes, we are all worthy of death, but Jesus has obtained for us the hope of forgiveness and redemption.

Jesus is not currently taking territory geographically, but rather, internally.  Those who believe on him are not only forgiven, but the Spirit of God enables them to take possession of their inner souls.  This is intended to spill out into their life and affect the people around them.  It spills out into their family and neighborhood.   If enough people in an area are transformed by faith in Jesus, then it can even spill out and affect a whole nation.  Thus, geography can come under the rule of Jesus, but that is not the current focus, the heart of people is the focus.

For the Christian, there are still very real enemies, and some of them are even people.  Yet, we do not deal with them in the same way as Israel was commanded.  So how are we to deal with them?  This passage in Ephesians chapter 2 helps us to identify them, and then, we will talk about how to battle them.

#1 The World-

In verse 2, Paul talks about how each of them (of us) were before the believed on Jesus.  They walked “according to the course of this world…”  The word translated “course” in the NASB speaks of the systems of humanity within a nation and the world as a whole.  They may have distinctions, but there is a bent to them that is away from God.  This can be more or less, religious or secular.  Humans born in those societies tend to follow this course that is away from God.  Israel, which was supposed to represent a system of God, had become deep-captured, until they were just like the world around them, standing against God without even knowing it.  These systems of the world are more than just a bunch of individuals doing bad things.  It becomes a system that is greater than any one sinner, and is more than the sum of its wicked parts.

Of course, we cannot blame all of our sin on the world and culture around us.  However, a culture that is far from God makes it easier for a people to fall into the trappings of sin, and even define it as good.  If adults teach and model things to their kids that God says is sinful, then they are more likely to follow them, and that place becomes a place of bondage and tyranny, both spiritually and literally.

This can even happen in a society that claims to follow God.  The political leaders of Israel (Herod when Jesus was born) had created an anti-God power structure, no matter how much lip service He might give to Him.  Similarly, the religious leaders of Israel in the first century had also created an anti-God, anti-Messiah, religion in God’s name.  Think of that.  In God’s name, we put to death the very Messiah that He sends.  Of course, this isn’t an Israelite problem.  It is a human tendency driven by this world.

Christians do not fight the world systems primarily through political means.  We know that no amount of laws, punishments, prisons, wars, etc. will ever fix this world.  This doesn’t mean that we don’t have laws and such, but that we are not looking to these things to fix the world.

Jesus sends us to the world with the message of the Gospel.  We are to tell people the truth of their peril and God’s offer of forgiveness through Jesus out of love for them.  We also live our lives according to the words of Christ and his apostles (the New Testament).  Thus, we refuse to conform to the ungodly pressures of the society around us.  We go to battle against the philosophies, ideas, and false religions that hold them captive, rather than against them.

Though our primary focus is not political, the politics of a nation will change when enough people repent and believe on Jesus.  When enough people are living out the commands of Jesus, that nation will be transformed.  We are not talking about reaching 51% and taking over.  Rather, a life that is lived for Jesus by the Holy Spirit’s leading is far more powerful than a mere vote in an election.  Thus, a once pagan place that persecuted Christians can become a place in which they are free to worship God.

The difference here is that our focus is not on the political, but rather on changing hearts.  The Scriptures are clear that Christianity will impact the whole world and make a huge impact upon it.  However, it also makes it clear that the political powers of the nations will not embrace Jesus when he comes back.

#2 The devil-

Verse 2 also says that they walked “according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience…”  This prince of the power of the air is a reference to a spiritual enemy, the devil.  Him and the spiritual entities in league with him have deep captured the world.  Yes, the world is bent away from God, but the devil takes advantage of that and harnesses it for his ends.  2 Corinthians 4:4 says that the “god” of this age [the devil] blinds people from believing God and the Gospel of Jesus.  This spiritual layer lies behind the world system.  It ends up doing the bidding of the devil.  Some people do so knowingly.  We would call them satanists.  However, most people do so unknowingly.  They are simply caught up in a way of living that they have known from birth.  It becomes natural for them to do the bidding of the devil without actually trying to follow him.

We should recognize that, though the sin of humans is definitely a big part of our problem, the interference and misleading of these spiritual beings has made it far worse than it would have become.  Those who think we can build a Utopia by casting off Christianity do not understand the fire they are playing with.  These spiritual beings do not love humans.  They want to destroy us forever.  It is only by the grace of God that they haven’t done so already.

So, just as we can picture humans deep capturing the governmental structures of a society for criminally helping themselves to the people’s treasury, so we can picture the devil and his spiritual cohorts deep capturing the systems of this world to trap people in blindness to God’s offer of help.  This is what Jesus faced: a corrupt Roman system of government and religion, and a corrupt Israelite political and religious system.

There is a spirit (and spirits) working through those who are in disobedience to God (sons of disobedience) in order to create a world system that keeps humans in bondage to sin and blind to the Gospel.

How do we fight these spiritual enemies?  First, we put our faith in Jesus.  We listen to the teaching of Jesus and obey his commands.  This will immunize us to the false teaching and wicked commands of this world.  We also fight him by being alert to his schemes.  The Bible records all the ways that humans are tempted to rebel against God and live contrary to His design.  We fight him by being spiritual people who are not in bondage to sin (James 4:7).  We fight him by using the spiritual armor that Jesus supplies to his people (Ephesians 6:10-18).  We fight him through praying for one another.

Of course, some people say to themselves that they will not listen to the world or God.  They believe that they can somehow just serve themselves.  However, serving yourself only ends up serving the devil.

#3 Our Flesh-

Our third enemy is outlined in verse 3.  “We all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind…”  Yes, we have the world and the devil to watch out for, but the most difficult enemy is internally ourselves.  Paul speaks of lusts of our flesh that fulfill the desires of the flesh and mind.  The desires are the simply what we want, our wishes.  These are connected to what is pleasing  to the senses of our body and what is pleasing to our mind.  Whereas, lusts refer to a strong passion for these things.  We can imagine a spectrum of intensifying desires that go from a low level preference for something all the way to a heated desire that is hard for us to restrain.

It is not that a pleasure in and of itself is evil.  Rather, when we live only to satisfy the desires of our body and mind, then we become captive to our flesh.  It knows no boundaries.  Without the help of the truth of God and the Spirit of God, we will become enslaved to the lusts of our flesh.  This can also happen when we pursue a spirituality that has no connection to the truth of God.  False religions all have their source in the devil and his cohorts.

We might even try to blame God for our penchant to over indulge our flesh.  However, God made these things to be a joy when they are not in control of our life.  If we listen to Him, then they will take their proper place and be His gift to us.  However, if we ignore Him, then they will become a curse to us as they continually seek pleasure at the cost of truth.

This is what we used to be.  However, now, we have become spiritually alive in Christ.  We are still in a body that is used to having its desires and lusts satisfied.  Thus, we have an internal battle against these.  Romans 8:13, “if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”  This is not just a list of do’s and don’ts.  We are called to be led by the Holy Spirit in putting them to death.  This begins with the Word of God, but is empowered as we listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

We also fight these lusts by staying in a community of Christ-followers.  Thus, we have a Kingdom Community, the Holy Spirit, and a new spiritual life that corresponds to the old world, devil, and flesh.  When you lean into these things, you will find a growing victory over time.

We are to fight this battle of sin in a spiritual way.  Thus, the Word of God, which is spiritual, is essential, as well as prayer and fellowship with other believers.  If we feed upon the garbage of this world, then our old nature will overcome our new nature that is spiritually alive to Christ.

Up until now, Paul has reminded them of their old way of life that they had left behind.  Yet, notice in verse 4 that there are things that God is doing.

Our heavenly Father (v. 4-10)

No matter how bad our situation was, or is, or even could become, God is for us.  He has helped us, is helping us, and will complete the good work in us, if we will simply trust Him.  We are His family, and He cares for us.

Paul emphasizes that our heavenly Father is merciful and loving.  He may seem hard and unloving at times.  However, He wants to break through our blindness and our stubbornness.  No matter how failed and plundered a person may become- think about the thief on the cross- you can still believe in Jesus.  The mercy and love of God is not just offered to some.  It is offered to all who are lost.  This doesn’t mean that everyone will embrace it.  But, they reject it over the top of God’s amazing love.

It is His covenant-keeping, merciful, faithful love that makes it possible for a person who is under the tyranny of a spiritual enemy, stuck in the ruts of this world, and enslaved to the lusts of their flesh, to be able to break free, even when they are dead in their transgressions.

Verse 5 reminds us that it is God who makes us spiritually alive together with Jesus.  This is a very real spiritual work that is done by the Spirit of God when someone believes in Jesus.  From this point on, we can read the Scriptures and sense the Holy Spirit speaking to us.  We can be led by Him through the Word, Prayer, and actions of faith.

Paul reminds us that we have been raised up with Christ and seated with him in the heavenly places.  This is a spiritual connection that we have to the greatest throne in the universe.  Yet, upon our deaths, we go to be with Christ, where we belong.

Verse 7 explains that our connection to Christ and the now, but not fully yet, aspect of the Kingdom has a climax.  In the age to come, God will demonstrate the surpassing riches of His grace toward us who have believed in Christ.  Yes, we will see the riches of God’s grace, but ultimately, we are the demonstration of God’s riches to the heavens and to the earth.  The resurrection promises to give all who have died and those who are still alive in Christ, glorified heavenly bodies.  We will shine with the glory of Christ at his side.  This is what Paul is talking about in Romans 8:18-25.  The heavenly beings, the faithful ones and the fallen ones, will see the faithful of humanity not just restored, but raised in glory.  Even rebellious and wicked humans will see the glory of those who trusted in Christ.

However, in all of this, the greatest battle is keeping ourselves focused on God’s purpose.  Thus, in verse10, Paul reminds us that we are God’s workmanship, His special work.  He works in us to do the good works that He has prepared for us in Jesus.

There is nothing wrong with making money, saving up, retiring, etc.  But, if that is all you are living for, then it will be wrong.  It is not the thing really, but me that is wrong.  When Christ comes in, all things should take their proper place so that we are no longer a slave to them.  We don’t have to be a slave to the lusts of our flesh, the course of this world, and the devil.  We can be free in serving Christ!

Our Battle audio

Faith in the Lord Jesus for Life

Romans 1:16-19; Habakkuk 2:4.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on November 25, 2018.

Over 500 years ago a young, Roman-Catholic worried about how he could be truly right with God.  When lightning struck dangerously close to him, it scared him badly.  He then became a monk and spent his time in prayer and fasting, attempting to settle things with God.  Lacking peace throughout this whole time, the young man then heard the Lord speak to him one day.  “The just shall live by faith.”  As he contemplated Romans 1:17, young Martin Luther began to understand the truly wonderful truth of the Gospel for the first time.  He wrote later, “I felt born again like a new man.  I entered through the open doors into the very paradise of God.”  Until that day Luther lacked peace and rest in his spirit, but afterwards he had sweet relief.

Today we are going to transition from talking about how faith is necessary for salvation to the point that faith is necessary for living our lives on this earth.  Technically our lives on this earth are a part of our salvation, but it is a whole new phase of the work of God in our lives.  Let’s look at this passage in Romans.

The righteousness that we need is from God

In this passage, Paul clearly has salvation in mind, but for him salvation is not just a thing that happened at a point in the past.  It is also something that is lived out each and every day.  So before we get into how he uses the truth, the just shall live by faith, we will take some time to look at where this truth was first revealed in Scripture.

In the Old Testament book of Habakkuk, the prophet is questioning God about some difficult things that he sees.  It seems to him that God is not doing anything about it.  Anyone who begins to follow Jesus will quickly discover that we often have questions and do not understand the wisdom behind how God runs things.  God does not always protect the righteous from the deeds of wicked people.  As Habakkuk wrestled with that question, God tells him in Hab. 2:4, “Behold the proud, his soul is not upright within him, but the just shall live by faith.”  So we have two parallel statements that contrast each other.  The subject of the first is the proud.  The statement is that they are not upright within themselves.  Since this is a contrast we might expect the second statement to have “the humble” as its subject, but instead we have “the just,” another way of saying the righteous.  God could have said for Habakkuk to look at the humble and how their spirit is upright within them, but He doesn’t.  Think about the many other verses in the Old Testament that speak about the inner life of mankind (both proud and humble).  Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”  The proud, whether religious or not, think that they are right or just.  They exercise all manner of faith in their own righteousness.   However, God sees through them.  On the other hand the just, i.e. those who are truly righteous from God’s perspective, will live by faith in God rather than themselves.  They are not even perfectly upright inside themselves and they know this.  The righteous are those who reject the arrogant tendency to trust our own mind and heart over the top of the revelation of God.

Thus the righteous see their failings and look to God in faith for their salvation.  They are declared righteous by God because of their faith in Him.  Of course now we are directed particularly to Jesus.  The Father has sent His Son and all who put their trust in Him are declared righteous.  In case you are not completely convinced, think about the first 3 chapters of the book of Romans.  In chapter one he shows how the gentile nations were lost and depraved in their thinking and living.  However, he then goes on to show how even the “righteous” Israelites had fallen short of God’s glory.  Romans 3:22b-23 compares the Gentiles with the Jews and states, “For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  There is not a single righteous person throughout this whole earth who is righteous in and of themselves.  If they are righteous it is because of their faith in God.  In Romans 1:17 Paul speaks of the “righteousness of God.”  Jesus is the righteousness of God and He offers this righteousness freely to those who will lay aside their own false righteousness.  He alone is truly right within Himself.

Thus Paul answers the question, “Who are the just?”  His answer is this.  It is those who have received the righteousness of God instead of clinging to their own.  Martin Luther and other early reformers actually called this “alien righteousness.”  This was to emphasize that the righteousness a true believer has is not their own.  It belongs to another, Jesus.  None of us has it in ourselves.  We must receive it from God Himself and God only gives it to those who lay down their righteousness and embrace Jesus in faith.

Paul states that it is in the Gospel that we are told these things.  In other words these things are what God has revealed in His Word.  We must not skip over this point lightly.  The Law of Moses does reveal a kind of righteousness, but it is a righteousness that none of us have (nor did any in the days of Moses).  Think on it.  Anywhere you have a set of laws, you will find no one who perfectly keeps them all, especially if you take in account what Jesus said about our inner thought life in Matthew 5:18.  What we actually find there are many people who are proud in their ability to look like they are in compliance.  That is why we always find law makers who don’t pay their taxes, etc.  The prophets pointed to the need for a man to be made righteous by God because they saw our inability to perform the law of God.  The Gospel, or good news, of Jesus Christ reveals to us this righteousness that none of us has in ourselves, but can obtain from God Himself by putting our confidence in Jesus and following Him.

The world today challenges believers to separate themselves from God’s Word, whether completely or only partially.  However, if we run from the Bible to any degree, we are only destroying ourselves.  Don’t run from the Bible because it is the only hope that we and this world have.  It points us away from ourselves and towards Jesus, who is the righteousness of God.

This enables us to live by faith

It is our own righteousness that tends to trip us up in this life.  When we jettison it and look to Christ we are suddenly enabled to actually please God and do the righteous things as He desires.  Verse 17 uses an interesting phrase to describe this faith.  In the NKJV it reads, “by faith from first to last.”  Literally the passage says, “out of faith into faith.”  I am not quibbling with the translation.  Notice though how it describes a person moving from a position of faith into another position of faith.  This is what it means to walk with God.  We walk by faith, not by sight.  Yes, God has given us some knowledge, but we still have huge gaps and struggles with where things are headed.  Like Habakkuk we don’t understand why we are seeing what we are seeing.  If we are going to follow God it will only be by taking one step of faith after another.  No matter how confident a saint may appear, or how long they have walked with Jesus, they never get to a place where they no longer have to walk by faith.  They too must trust God all along the way, often at the expense of what they see, feel, or think.  Our flesh does not like walking by faith and will always find things to complain about.  Faith is not a one-time step into salvation, but a continual step after step from that very first step of faith in Jesus Christ to that last step of faith as we leave this world.  For the righteous it is always a walk of faith in the Lord Jesus.

Faith in Jesus is the only solid ground that can hold up a righteous life.  Habakkuk knew these things to some degree, but we still see him struggling with them.  He struggles with why God has let so many wicked people in Israel rise to leadership.  When God tells him that the Babylonians will come and conquer Israel, then Habakkuk questions how God could use those who were more wicked than Israel to judge them.  You see if we fixate on the things of this world and how they are going, we will be robbed of our faith.  You too will have to struggle with your fears and thoughts in order to keep your faith in Jesus.   There is nothing in this world that will keep you strong, except putting your trust in Jesus completely.  Jesus Himself is the solid ground upon which we stand.  We feel like it is less solid, but it is the only thing that will hold when God begins to shake things up.  Your righteous works won’t hold.  The greatness and goodness of the United States of America won’t hold.  The promise and hope of a representative republic won’t hold.  Your favorite philosopher or biblical teacher won’t hold.  Only Jesus will hold because He alone is the righteousness of God.  When you have Him, you have a solid foundation for taking that next step and then the next and then the next.  He will hold us up until we reach our place in heaven beside Him.

Let me close by recognizing verses 18 and 19.  Paul transitions here to the wrath of God.  The proud will go on in their self righteousness and experience the wrath of God, but those who live by faith in Jesus will not be exposed to this wrath.  Oh, we do have a healthy fear of God.  However, we understand His offer of grace, and His offer of righteousness.  Thus we walk in confidence in Him.

What is faith?  Faith is a complete confidence in Christ to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  Without Jesus I can’t be a good father, husband, pastor, or insert any part of your life here, but with Him I can become the righteousness of God.  When we humble ourselves to this very low place, we find salvation and God enables us to rise up and walk with Him day by day.   Yes, we have questions and we have days when our faith meter may not be so strong.  However, in those moments may we all understand that God is only teaching us to trust in Him rather than those things that are making us waver.  Let’s walk with Jesus and not worry about what the world may say.  Amen.

Faith for Life audio

Faith in the Lord Jesus for Salvation

Ephesians 2:1-10.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on November 18, 2018.

Today we are going to begin a new series that focuses on our need for faith in this life.  Faith is an interesting thing because it is not essentially a religious thing.  I know that statement sounds sacrilegious.  To have faith is to put your trust in something or someone.  Thus everybody lives in some way by faith, but the question is this.  What do you trust in?  What do you have faith in?  We sometimes call this the object of our faith.  Even an atheist put their faith in the material things of this world and the ability of science to understand everything eventually.  However, God’s Word calls all people everywhere to put their faith in the Lord Jesus that they may be saved from this wicked and adulterous generation.

Once we were spiritually dead

In Ephesians Paul is writing to people who were not always followers of the One True God.  There are many metaphors used for people in this condition: to be blind, to be a slave, to be sick, to be lost, and here to be dead.  It is clear that we are dealing with a spiritual death in which that most vital part of us, our spirit, is separated and unable to connect with the most vital being of the universe, God.  Even though we are physically alive, even somewhat morally and ethically alive, we are not animated by God and His Word.  Rather, we are animated by the things of this world that are not of God.

Now, as an analogy, we should not put more weight upon this statement then it can biblically bear.  How can a person who is dead to God and His Word, quit being dead and start being alive?  How can a dead man believe?  The analogy does not tell us everything about the thing it analogizes.  It only gives us a glimpse.  Somehow the truth of God’s Word can put a dead man in a position to come to live again if they believe.  Similarly a blind man can see, a slave can be set free, a sick person healed, and a lost person found because of the grace of God.

Verse 1 describes this spiritual death as being “in trespasses and sins.”  The life of a person who is spiritually dead becomes filled with things that can be described by these words.  “Trespasses” refers to the many ways in which our actions and life cross the line of what is acceptable to God. The word “sins” refers to the fact that our actions, thoughts, and desires are in error, or miss the mark in regard to the things that God would have us do.  A life that crosses the boundaries of God’s will and falls short of the good that God has for us to do begins at a very young age within ourselves.  Even when kids are taught right and wrong, they naturally gravitate towards all manner of selfish desires and actions.  By the time a child becomes an adult their life is increasingly filled with these things.  This is the natural effect in those who are spiritually dead.  In this sense we are our own worst enemy.

Verse 2 says that we were walking according to, or following, the course of this world.  The course of this world could be translated as the system of this world and gives the picture of a herd mentality of the spiritually dead society.  When a child is born they drop into a system that pulls them along by the sheer force of its magnitude and the reality that the child knows nothing else.  It is as if you are plunged into a river that is following a course.  This becomes the second part of our problem.  Yes, we are our own worst enemy, but we are also caught up in a world that is leading us away from God.  This world has a great pull on our hearts and minds, pulling us away from Jesus and towards something else.

Verse 2 also says that we and the world we are in were being led by the prince of the power of the air.  The phrase that is used here refers to malevolent, spiritual powers.  Jesus referred to them as “the devil and his angels,” as well as “demons.”  These spiritual powers operate as a single force because they have a ruler over them whom Scriptures generally name as the devil or Satan.  1 John 5:19 says, “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”  Also 2 Corinthians 4:3, 4 says, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”  The “god of this world” is referring to the one who is acting like a god over the lives of mankind.  He is not truly a god.  The dark sinister forces that he oversees are the enemies of all humanity.  Thus we have the final list of all our enemies: self, the world, and the devil (and his evil spirits).  Many people don’t understand that there is a malevolent, spiritual force behind all the junk that is going on in the world.  This does not absolve mankind, but it does impact how we respond to the problem.

Verse 4 starts with the phrase “but God.”  In this condition of lostness and deadness, God still loves us.  Despite the error that we embrace in our lives His great love richly offers mercy to us.  This does not mean we are okay.  Yes, God loves us and is rich in mercy; however, He will not overlook our sin as if it is okay.  Paul speaks to the Ephesians in a way that it is a done deal, but he knows that they have done what they need to do in order to receive that mercy.  While they were in a spiritually dead state, God sent His grace to them and they responded in faith, which made them spiritually alive!

When the Word of God is spoken into people’s lives today, it brings with it the hope and power to make them spiritually alive.  The Word of God is by definition the Word of Life, and where the Word of Life is there can be life, even life so powerful that it brings the dead back to life.

In all of this we should be careful not to confuse God’s love and mercy with a lack of judgment.  If God is truly good then He must deal with the trespasses and sin that is going on in this world.  In His goodness God has set a date in which all will be judged.  Until then His rich mercy pleads with all people, through the words of the Bible and those who share it who have been made spiritually alive, to believe in Jesus and put their faith in Christ.

Now we are spiritually alive

Let’s begin to focus on the spiritually alive part.  A person who is spiritually alive is no longer animated by their flesh, or the world around them, or any evil spiritual forces.  They are connected to God through the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is His Word and His Holy Spirit that motivates and leads us.  Of course this involves remaining vigilant against those three enemies and exercising self discipline by the help of the Holy Spirit.

Verse 5 states that our spiritual resurrection is connected to the physical resurrection of Christ.  Jesus was always spiritually alive.  There was never a point that he was spiritually dead.  He did not figure the way out of sin and show us the way.  Rather, He is the source of Life and He is the way to the Father.  This spiritual life that we enjoy today could not exist without Him and His resurrection.  Our connection to Him will eventually lead to our physical resurrection, but for now it has created a spiritual life in us that could not exist without Him.  As we put our trust and faith in Jesus, His life lives in us.  He is the object of our faith, not just an example of it.  We do not just believe things about Jesus, but we are even more trusting His Words, commands, and the way that He shows us to live.  If we reject these things then we reject the life that He wants to give to us.  To separate from Christ is to separate from life itself.

In verse 6 Paul reminds us that we are not only made alive, but that we also are enabled to sit with Christ in the heavenly places.  Right now Jesus is at the right hand of the Father in heaven.  When we die we will go to be with Christ there, but while we are alive we are already spiritually seated with Him.  His Spirit within us is the guarantee of our right to sit with Christ.  It is the place that has been reserved for those who put their faith in Christ.  It is our destiny to reign with Christ in eternity, but that identity belongs to us already.  We have already been raised up from a dead position of lying under the power of the wicked one, and we are enabled to walk in this first stage of being seated with Christ.

Verse 7 tells us that we are the recipients of God’s kindness in Jesus.  The first coming of Christ was a kindness of God.  He did not owe us salvation.  However, in His kindness, He makes a way.  We can receive this kindness and walk in it today.  That said, the full measure of God’s kindness will not be seen until this age comes to an end and the return of Christ occurs.  Today the world will mock the idea that we are kings and priests of God, that we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies, and that we are spiritually alive.  At times we may even have our own doubts.  However, in the ages to come (verse 7) the full kindness of God will be made evident.  There will be no question as God demonstrates it before the whole universe.

Now verses 8 and 9 are the classic salvation verses for all evangelicals.  We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  The two-point qualification is important.  We need the grace of God.  Without it no amount of faith could save us.  It is only the grace of God that accepts anything, even our faith in Jesus.  This gift from God is freely given.  Yet, we must employ faith or trust in Jesus to accept this gift.  Grace has been given, but it is within Jesus.  There is no other means of grace and there is no other way to take hold of Christ but through faith in Him.  Even this faith isn’t from us.  If it wasn’t for the revelation of God in the Bible opening our eyes to the reality around us, and the help of the Holy Spirit, we wouldn’t have a clue regarding how we can be saved.  When we trust Jesus for salvation, it becomes the channel by which God’s grace of salvation comes into our life, making us alive.

As we close, let’s look at verse 10.  Here we see that we have been saved for the purpose of doing those good works that God has for us.    No amount of good works can save a person.  Instead we were saved in order to do good works, even more than that, to become the righteousness of God.  Thus we are God’s workmanship.  We are the good work that He has done in this day and in this generation.  May God encourage us in our faith in Christ, and may that faith lead to many good works out of thanks for the salvation of God and out of joy for the life of God that we now have!

Faith for Salvation audio