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

Lessons of Christmas- The Goodness of It All

Titus 3:1-8.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on November 29, 2015.

As we enter the Christmas season, I want us to look at some of the lessons that it teaches us.  Of course, we do not want to confuse what the world wants us to learn with what God wants us to learn.  The world wants us to generalize Christmas into a time of feeling and doing good things towards others.  But, God wants us to learn far more than this because the first Christmas did not happen in a vacuum.  It happened after a long history of mankind’s rejection of God and the tragic consequences of our chosen paths, namely sin.

The history of mankind is that of casting off the truth of God and his dealings with us, and then following our own heart.  We are told that spiritual enemies have taken advantage of this to instigate false religions and ways of living among mankind.  Thus the nations of the world were lost and worshipping demonic spirits in the guise of gods.  In this context, God creates a nation from Abraham called Israel.  He gives them His Law as a witness to all the nations.  But 18 centuries later, Israel had become a nation that sidelined the Truth of God’s Law and had embraced the traditions of rabbis and “wise men.”  Instead of a complete rejection like the nations of the world, they kept up a form of obedience, but the powerful principles of God’s Word had been rejected.  Thus all of mankind was in the same condition: bound by the sin of rejecting the Truth of God and guilty before Him.  It was time for judgment and destruction.  It was time for another global judgment.  And yet, that is not what God did.  It is impossible to overemphasize the fact that mankind was totally guilty and deserving judgment before God when He surprised us with a supreme gift of love.  God sent us His own Son, not as a conquering, warrior king to destroy, but rather as a harmless child who would save.  Christmas is a story about the supreme goodness of God.  The message of Christmas is not about the goodness of humanity, but rather, the goodness of God despite the horrible sins of mankind.

The Christian Is Called To Goodness

In Titus 3, the first two verses may look like a list of duties.  However, the list itself flows out of a central principle that followers of Jesus are called to goodness in everything that they do.  The first area Paul points out is our goodness towards authority, specifically governmental.  Christians ought to act in a good manner towards governments and any authorities in their life for that matter.  There are many times when the wickedness within a person causes them to reject the virtues of self-subjection and obedience to authority.  In fact as you read this you may not see them as virtuous, but as problems.  Yet, there are fewer times when righteousness demands that we stand against authority.  In fact, it is important for Christians to note, that even when the apostles themselves disobeyed governmental authorities by continuing to preach Christ, they submitted to the punishments without raging against those who carried them out.  In fact, they demonstrated love even to those who were persecuting them.  Yes, there are many issues in this area.  Yet, this cannot be avoided.  Those who follow Jesus must do so in an attitude of subjection and obedience to governmental authorities, and not one of rage, anger, and rebellion.

Next Paul tells them to be ready for every good work.  This is a general statement that helps us to see that we are to do more than just be good in a passive sense.  We are to actively prepare for and execute those good works that opportunity affords us.  How can we ready ourselves?  Our readiness is that of a disciple who is listening to the Holy Spirit and living out what He teaches us.  We follow the Spirit of Christ rather than the Spirit of this Age.  It is our submission and obedience to the authority of the Lord Jesus that enables us to be ready for the good things we must do, and often to those who “don’t deserve it.”

Lastly Paul tells us to be good towards our fellow man.  Verse 2 demonstrates many different ways that we can do that.  “Speak evil of no one,” uses the word that is translated blasphemy when it is used of God.  Thus we are not to speak what is untrue or unsubstantiated about any one, period.  We are to be peaceable towards others.  That means we don’t start fights and further more we decline to fight with others when they start it.  Such bickering, quarreling, and outbursts are to stop at the decision of the believer to not reciprocate such things.  We are also told to be gentle.  This is not about how we touch one another, but is about our dealings.  We should be fair, equitable, mild, and loving even in times of correction.  Lastly we should be humble before all men.  In fact, especially before those whom we feel we are above.  This life of goodness is not easy to accept.  Our flesh comes up with innumerable excuses and “reasons” why Jesus can’t really mean this. 

It is easy to be good towards those who we think are good, but in verse 3 Paul reminds us that we were not always a person committed to being good.  It is important to identify with the person we see as evil.  Even if we have left that life behind, we used to be like them.  If we condemn them then we are condemning ourselves.  If they are unworthy of goodness then so are we.  Paul ends his list of what our past life was like with a picture of those who are selfish and scrapping with everyone around them, hateful and hating.  It is survival of the fittest and dog eat dog.  This is the world as it was in the days of the first Christmas.  Little hope, little light, and thick darkness all around. 

The Goodness of God Has Appeared in Jesus

In verses 4-8, Paul reminds us that Jesus came to us during this darkness.  His “appearance” is a reference to His incarnation, birth and life.  His light broke in upon the darkness and life sprang up among the dead.  Jesus broke in upon this sad condition of ours and gave us goodness.  This is what we are called to do.  We are to be the goodness of God breaking in upon the darkness of others in this world.

Jesus did not just merely exist, but he was the goodness of God towards people who didn’t deserve goodness.  He came not as a rebel against the government in order to take over, nor as a destroyer.  He was the gentleness and compassion of God as he healed people, set them free from demons, helped them to see the truths that they had lost, and simply helped them to believe in God again.  No matter what we experience in life, we must keep this as the bedrock of our understanding: God loves us all and has poured out benevolent kindness upon us despite our wickedness.

He did so not because He was obligated to do so.  He would have been perfectly justified to judge us as evil and either wall himself off from us, or destroy us.  No individual and no nation had done anything that would deserve the kindness of God to send mankind His Son as a savior.  It was simply mercy.  He gave us what we didn’t deserve.  This salvation was not the outward destruction of our enemies.  Otherwise He would have to destroy us all due to the fact that we are all someone’s enemy.  Rather, the salvation is of a spiritual and mental nature.  It is intended to change our way of dealing with the world around us.  We are to respond and live differently because that is who God is.

Part of this mercy is described as being regenerated by the Holy Spirit.  Though this term can refer to the Resurrection, here it is referring to the spiritual resurrection of our dead spirit.  Before Christ we were spiritually dead to God.  We could not hear and respond to Him.  Instead we only listened to and followed the flesh and the spirit of this age.  When a person puts their faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit does a real work of making their spirit alive to God.  This is also called “born again.”  The Spirit takes up residence within our heart and mind in order to help us connect with the heart of the Father.

We are also mercifully renewed by the Holy Spirit.  By following the spirit of this age and our own flesh, our mind and heart have become broken and scarred.  We have believed all manner of lies and deceptions.  The renewal of our mind and heart happens through the teaching of Jesus and his apostles.  The Word of God and our obedience to it washes and renews our mind and heart from the crud of this world.  Over time it is easy to give up and become discouraged with this process.  Yet, take heart.  We were told that it would be difficult to follow Jesus and that we would be tempted to quit.  When you run into things that discourage you, this is a sign that you are on the right path.  Some people give up at the very moment they are getting on to the right path.

Verse 8 brings us full circle.  Those who believe in the person and work of Jesus will be careful to maintain a life of good works.  This means we will be vigilant and watch over our life in order to keep doing the good things that God has for us to do.  Some people balk when we talk about good works because it sounds like we are trying to save ourselves with works.  It has been said that, “The theology of Christianity is based on grace, the ethics of Christianity are based on gratitude.”   We do not do good works because they will save us.  Rather we do them out of gratitude for the salvation we already have.  If God so loved us, while we were yet sinners, how much more ought we to act in love towards all men?  Don’t let this world rob you of the goodness of God.  Instead, be one who gives it freely everywhere you go.  No, we do not do good to others because of a foolish notion of humanity’s goodness.  Rather we do so because of the truth of God’s goodness and the ability of people to be redeemed.

Goodness of it all audio