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James 1:22-25 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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In our study, I'm going to reference some charts.
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If you have a bulletin already in your hands, you'll see these already and probably have already thought, what in the world are these?
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If you don't have one in your hand right now, I think you'll be benefited by having one in your hand.
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This will not magically appear on the screen over my left shoulder.
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So if you don't have a bulletin and you'd like one, Adam's got a stack of them in the back and he'd be glad to put one in your hand right now.
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If you'll raise your hand, he will run around the room and make this happen.
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Here's some hands.
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Okay, very good, Adam.
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Keep him high for him so he can see him.
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Don't do a little half elbow hand.
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Do a full hand.
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Let him get around the room and get him to you.
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I believe these will be helpful to you.
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I'll do my best to talk about them in such a way that you may not need them, but just in case.
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As those are coming around, let me remind you, in last week's text, we were exhorted by James to be quick to hear in verse 19.
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And I made the specific case to you that James is telling us to be quick to hear God's word.
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There's a broader application to this idea of being quick to hear and slow to speak and slow to anger.
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But specifically, he's talking about being quick to hear God's word as he goes on in verse 20 to exhort us to receive with meekness the implanted word.
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Two weeks ago, in celebration of Reformation Day, we considered 2 Peter 1, verse 16 through chapter 2 and verse 3,
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and the need for us always to be reforming by God's word.
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To come back to it again and again and again.
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Hold up our lives and the function of our church, the light of God's word.
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Peter writes in verse 19 of 2 Peter chapter 1,
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And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
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So, we will do well to hear God's word and to be transformed by God's word has been the theme that's been kind of picked up over the last couple of weeks.
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And today's text continues this line of reasoning.
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So, before I read James chapter 1, beginning in verse 22 and following,
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I remind you, beloved, that this is God's word to us.
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It has bearing on us today, sitting in this room.
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It was written for his glory and for our good.
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And so, we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and to obey its commands.
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James chapter 1, beginning in verse 22.
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But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
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For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.
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For he looks at himself and goes away at once, forgets what he was like.
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But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
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There are times when we come to a text in God's word and I want to read it and I just want to go, okay, let me read it one more time for you and we'll be done.
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And initially, this is kind of the impulse for me of a text like this, right?
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Don't just be a hearer, be a doer.
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Everybody got it?
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And to walk away from it.
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But there's a lot to consider and I think there's especially a lot to consider in our age about what a text like this means for the church.
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So we are going to study it.
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We're going to keep it open and we're going to continue to look at it over the next half hour or so.
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James here in this text juxtaposes two types of people.
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And notice that they are both hearers of the word.
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So they're within the category of those who are hearing the word.
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But only one is obedient to the word.
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Let's consider this text with a very simple outline.
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Number one, the way of the deceived.
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And number two, the way of the blessed.
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The way of the deceived and the way of the blessed.
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So first, the way of the deceived.
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James desires that his hearers not be deceived.
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And he's giving them instruction to that very end.
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So you have to notice just off the cuff that it is possible to be a hearer of the word and to be deceived.
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I think he's even suggesting that you can be quick to hear and slow to speak and slow to anger.
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That you can sit under the instruction of the word and take the word in and yet be deceived.
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Out of great love and out of great care for you, for your soul.
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Let me say to you, my friends, it is altogether possible to believe that you are in the faith.
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That you have placed your trust in the personal work of Jesus Christ.
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But to be deceived.
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And we say these kinds of things a lot in the life of our church.
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Because we live in an age where it seems that many people are, in fact, deceived.
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But I want you to know that we don't do this because we want to cause doubt in your heart.
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We want you to have the assurance of your salvation.
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We want you to stand confident in Christ.
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We don't want you to come here every week and walk away going, I just don't know.
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But we want you to know.
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And often the warning is not issued.
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And so we want to clearly, with great clarity, issue the warning.
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It's possible to think you're in the faith and not be in the faith.
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We live in an age of cheap grace.
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I want to define that term for you.
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And I'm going to do it with the one who coined the term.
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Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was an early 20th century pastor.
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You need to learn about him.
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He's a wonderful study in history.
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And he defines this term cheap grace as opposed to costly grace in his book, The Cost of Discipleship.
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So listen to this paragraph from that book.
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Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance.
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Baptism without church discipline.
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Communion without confession.
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Absolution without personal confession.
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Cheap grace is grace without discipleship.
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Grace without the cross.
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Grace without Jesus Christ living and incarnate.
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Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field.
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For the sake of it, a man will go and sell all that he has.
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It is the pearl of great price to buy, which the merchant will sell all his goods.
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It is the kingly rule of Christ.
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For whose sake a man will pluck out the eyes, which causes him to stumble.
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It is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.
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To follow Christ is costly.
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It requires all of us.
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Last week, I rushed through a reading of the parable of the sower from Mark chapter 4.
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Toward the end of the sermon.
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I want to put this toward the beginning of our time together today.
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And so, if you will, turn with me.
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Keep James chapter 1, Mark.
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We're coming right back to it.
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But turn with me to Mark chapter 4.
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And let's take another slightly less hurried look at this text.
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Mark chapter 4, verses 3 through 9.
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Now, as I read this, I will add comments.
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But these comments are Jesus' explanation following his telling of this parable.
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This is one of those rare parables where he tells us exactly what it means.
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And he says this beginning in verse 3 of Mark 4.
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Listen.
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There's a call right away to be quick to hear.
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Listen.
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Behold, a sower went out to sow.
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And we're told later that the sower is one who's sowing the word.
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Who's making a broad gospel call.
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Sowing the word.
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And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path.
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And the birds came and devoured it.
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So it's seed that never takes root at all.
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Satan comes along and snatches it away.
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Satan is the father of lies.
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So some other lies come in and take the seed of the truth away.
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Verse 5.
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Other seed fell on rocky ground where it did not have much soil.
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And immediately it sprang up since it had no depth of soil.
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So there's some apparent growth from this.
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But then verse 6 says,
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And when the sun rose, it was scorched.
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And since it had no root, it withered away.
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We're told that the sun is tribulation or trouble and persecution.
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So trial comes into the life of this soil.
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And it withers.
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And it doesn't come back.
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Right?
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There's no progress.
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Verse 7.
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Other seed fell among thorns.
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And the thorns grew up and choked it.
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And it yielded no grain.
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And Jesus tells us later that these thorns are the cares and the riches of the world.
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And lastly, other seed fell into good soil and produced grain,
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growing up and increasing and yielding 30-fold and 60-fold and 100-fold.
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And this is the fruit of righteousness.
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Right?
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People who are producing good works.
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And he concludes the parable in verse 9 by saying,
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And he who has ears to hear, let him hear.
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Be quick to hear.
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Understand that it is possible to receive the word and to not bear fruit.
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James here in our text, you can go back to James 1,
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uses a bit of a parable in warning us not to deceive ourselves.
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That's what he's doing in verse 23 and verse 24.
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If you're a hearer of the word and not a doer,
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if you're not obedient to the word that you hear,
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then you're like a man who looks intently at your natural face in a mirror.
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You look at your face.
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You see your face.
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And what does he say happens?
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He looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
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It doesn't bear any work in your life at all.
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Look in the mirror and you forget what you look like.
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If we are saved by Christ, right,
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we have been made fundamentally new.
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We no longer have hearts that are bent toward the world,
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toward sinfulness,
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towards rebellion against God.
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We now have hearts that are bent toward obedience,
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toward being his children.
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And our lives will, in varying degree,
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look different or fundamentally changed.
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In the discipline of my children,
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I say to them all the time,
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you're my kids, right?
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And I love you.
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And my children want to obey.
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My children want to listen to their loving father, right?
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They want to be identified with their father and his ways.
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And of course, I don't do this perfectly.
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But when my children disobey,
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I don't reject them as my children.
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I don't put them out on the curb with a free child sign around their neck.
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But I say to them again,
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you're my child.
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And my children want to listen to the loving instruction of their father.
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Imperfect, but loving instruction.
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And beloved, we have a heavenly father
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whose instruction is always perfect.
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It is never with fail.
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It always is the right instruction for us.
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And therefore, as his children,
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we ought to want to obey.
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We'll do it imperfectly,
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but we ought to desire
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to turn away from the things of this world
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and to turn toward God.
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If we have been delivered from our bondage to sin,
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we will be moved progressively
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to look more and more like our Savior
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from day to day.
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A quotation on your bulletin by Thomas Brooks.
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He says,
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There is no fear of knowing too much of the Bible.
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Right?
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Oh, no, the Bible.
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Right?
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It is a rich, rich book
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for our good and for the glory of God.
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There is no fear of knowing too much of the Bible, he says,
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but there is a great amount of fear
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that goes into practicing too little.
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Now, I think at this point,
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it may be helpful to make careful distinctions
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about how we are saved
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and how we are kept to the end.
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There's always a fear
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in talking about sanctification,
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which is what we're going to be discussing at length,
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of making people believe
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that they are saved by their works.
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No, you are not saved by your works.
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I want to be very clear about that.
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No, no, no.
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We are saved by the works of another,
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the Lord Jesus Christ.
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His perfect work,
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his sacrificial death.
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We cannot be saved by our works.
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So you've got to write that big
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at the top of your page.
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If that's going to be confusing to you
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at any point
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in the rest of what I'm going to say today,
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we cannot be saved by our works.
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But our works will give evidence
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of our salvation.
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Now, to work this out for you a bit,
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I'm going to give to you
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what is called the ordo salutis
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or order of salvation.
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We are first elected
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before the foundation of the world.
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God has chosen people for his glory.
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Second, for our benefit,
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an atonement was made.
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Jesus Christ died in our place,
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paid the penalty for our sin.
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Third, there's a general gospel call made.
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Anybody sitting in this room
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who is a Christian heard the gospel,
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whether it was proclaimed,
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word, or picked up and read
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in a track form,
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in the scripture itself,
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some way the gospel of Jesus Christ
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was shared with you.
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There was a gospel call made.
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And the spirit of Christ
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took that gospel call
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and made an inward call.
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It's step four.
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An inward gospel call was made.
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And he made your heart new
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in the act of regeneration, right?
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Caused your heart to be changed
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so that, in step six,
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you could believe
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in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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You could repent
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and place faith in your conversion
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in this gospel call.
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And at that moment,
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step seven,
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you were declared by God justified,
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declared righteous.
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In Christ,
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all of your sins forgiven,
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all of his righteousness
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given to you,
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you were justified in him.
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Step eight in the Ordo Salutis,
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you are sanctified.
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And we find in the scripture
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three different tenses
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for this word.
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So I want to be clear about this, right?
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There's both a past,
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present,
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and future use of this word
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because to be sanctified
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to mean to be declared
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holy or set apart.
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So there's a past tense to this,
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like when you are justified,
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you are also sanctified.
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You are set apart.
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Set apart for God.
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But there's also a present reality to that.
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We are being set apart.
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We are growing in our holiness
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in the way in which we represent God.
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And this is the most common usage
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of this term.
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Typically,
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when you hear it spoken,
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right,
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from a stage,
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from a pulpit,
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we talk about sanctification.
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This is what we're talking about,
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right?
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The life in which we now live.
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Having been justified,
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we are being sanctified.
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And then from time to time,
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it'll also be used in a future tense.
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We'll be fully and finally set apart one day.
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And for that,
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we typically use the term glorification,
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which is the last step in that, right?
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When our body of flesh
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will be put off fully,
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we'll be delivered completely from sin
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when we're in the presence of our Savior.
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So election,
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atonement,
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a general gospel call,
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an inward gospel call,
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work by the Spirit,
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regeneration,
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conversion,
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which happens with repentance and faith,
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justification,
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sanctification,
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glorification,
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right?
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So again,
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hear me,
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we are not saved by our works.
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But as a proof that we have been saved
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by grace alone,
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through faith alone,
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in the personal work of Jesus Christ alone,
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we will make this evident
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by the power of the Spirit,
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through progressive sanctification.
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There is much well-meaning confusion
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about the nature of sanctification,
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which is why I want to bring clarity
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to the issue, right?
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By showing you the five prominent views,
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some more prominent than others.
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And this is the back of your bulletin.
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This is why I think you'll benefit
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from having this in your hands.
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Please don't see this as a distraction
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to the text today, right?
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I'm trying to explain to you
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why James picks this up,
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why he says it's important
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that we be doers of the word
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and not just hearers, right?
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This is all an explanation
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of how it is
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that we can deceive ourselves.
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So first, and quickly,
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and I want to say,
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I didn't create any of these images.
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I don't want to be a plagiarist here.
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So if you want to know
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where I got these things from,
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I'll be happy to send them to you.
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I'll send you the article
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that they're found in,
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explains these things more and more.
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So first, the Wesleyan view,
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sanctification,
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taught originally by John Wesley.
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Note, in every one of these diagrams,
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the cross is the point of salvation.
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That's what it's communicating.
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So you'll see first work of grace
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in this first one.
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Saved by grace, Wesley would have said,
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but non-sanctified at this point.
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And at some point in the life of a Christian,
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there's some crisis of faith
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and a second working of grace.
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This is what he argued.
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And at this point in the Christian's life,
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they experience entire sanctification,
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or he also called it Christian perfection.
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He didn't mean that we were made entirely like Christ,
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but that we would put off all known sin.
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Still capable of sinning,
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but we would put off all known sin.
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And in this chart,
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the little dotted arrows pointing up and down
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means that Wesley would argue
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that you could step out of this state of perfection
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and then back into this state of perfection.
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But it wasn't so much a progress being made,
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but an either or.
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You're stepping in,
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you're stepping out of this position.
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Out of this,
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I'd suggest to you,
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some very unhealthy views of sanctification have come.
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I don't know that Wesley would have supported,
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but perhaps some who hold this view of sanctification
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claim that they haven't sinned in years.
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You hear that claim being made.
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And I hope that you go,
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what?
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I've probably sinned,
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not known,
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in the moment that you've seen me standing on this stage,
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that some way my inclinations or my motives
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have been wrong in what I've done.
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But Wesley brought it down to this very narrow,
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known sin category.
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And even then,
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I would say,
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how could you claim
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if you're not paying attention,
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if you think in years you haven't sinned?
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Now,
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out of this Wesleyan view,
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the Wesleyan view collided with Pentecostalism,
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and some other views came about.
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I made these small to fit them on the page,
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but also because they're kind of subcategories
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of this same view of sanctification.
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So you have the Keswick view,
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which is a region in England.
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That's where the name comes from,
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the Keswick view.
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And in this,
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you may have heard this phrase before,
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let go and let God.
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The key to this view is trusting,
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not trying.
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In the same way,
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you're saved,
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but here you're not spirit-filled.
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They would call you a defeated Christian.
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And I don't know about you,
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but when I was converted,
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I was in no way defeated.
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Christ declared me victorious in him.
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They make the distinction
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between the carnal person
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and the spiritual person.
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Again,
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another crisis of faith
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where a person stops trying so hard
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and just lets go
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and has God work in them.
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Perfection.
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Another spirit-filled,
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victorious Christian life.
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The congregational holiness movement
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came out of this.
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We have a congregational holiness
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congregation that meets
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just down the road here.
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Free Chapel,
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if you're familiar with,
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is a congregational holiness church.
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I don't know how both of these congregations,
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if they hold this view strictly or not,
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but this is
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the view that birthed
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those kinds of movements.
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Also,
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the Pentecostal view,
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right?
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You're saved.
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This is the first work of grace,
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but you're a defeated Christian
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at that time
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until
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you're
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filled with the spirit.
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You get the spirit baptism,
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right?
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Many Pentecostals will argue
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that's the first time
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you receive
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the spirit,
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that you're evidenced
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in
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various outward signs
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like speaking in tongues
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and you live this
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victorious Christian life
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at that second work
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of grace
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in your life.
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Now,
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some of us may encounter people
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who are believing these
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and may not even know,
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right?
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Probably few people
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would say to you,
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oh,
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I hold the Keswick view
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of sanctification,
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but you might see it work in,
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maybe even in your own thinking,
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the way you ought to live.
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I've been saved
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by the grace of God.
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I ought to live more perfectly
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than I'm currently living.
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You might have some of this work
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inside of your
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thought process.
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The one I'm more concerned about
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tends to be held
24:10
more regularly
24:11
is the Chaferian view
24:14
of sanctification.
24:17
This view
24:18
comes out of,
24:19
there's three prominent
24:20
theologians
24:21
that have espoused this view.
24:23
The primary one
24:23
is Lewis Sperry Chafer.
24:26
That's the Chaferian view.
24:27
And they all
24:28
come out of
24:30
Dallas Theological Seminary.
24:34
Now,
24:34
this is a prominent view
24:38
in American evangelicalism.
24:40
I grew up
24:41
in churches
24:42
under this view
24:43
of sanctification.
24:44
We get phrases like
24:46
backslidden
24:48
and the idea
24:50
of rededication
24:51
from this view
24:52
of sanctification.
24:54
You may be
24:54
more familiar with it
24:55
than you
24:56
realize.
24:59
This view
25:00
divides up
25:02
mankind
25:02
into three different categories.
25:04
First,
25:04
the natural
25:05
or unconverted
25:06
man.
25:07
second,
25:09
the carnal,
25:11
which is the converted
25:12
but not spirit-filled
25:13
man.
25:14
Again,
25:15
the term defeated
25:16
is often
25:16
used in this case.
25:19
This is a person
25:19
that accepts
25:20
Christ
25:21
as Savior.
25:22
This view
25:23
would argue
25:23
that you can make
25:24
a profession
25:25
of faith in Christ
25:26
most typically
25:28
during an invitation.
25:29
So you've walked
25:30
an aisle,
25:31
you've signed
25:31
a card,
25:33
and they want
25:33
to give you assurance
25:34
at that moment.
25:35
So you've accepted
25:36
Christ as your Savior,
25:38
but
25:39
you've not
25:41
accepted Him
25:42
as your Lord.
25:44
They draw a distinction
25:45
between the two.
25:46
You can have Jesus
25:47
as Savior
25:47
and not as Lord,
25:49
but there will be
25:49
some crisis of faith
25:50
in your life
25:51
where you really
25:52
dedicate yourself
25:52
to this.
25:54
And at that point,
25:55
they would call you
25:56
spirit-filled,
25:57
at which point
25:58
you begin this process
26:00
of bit by bit
26:00
by bit growing
26:01
in holiness.
26:02
A little more tomorrow
26:04
than the day
26:05
before.
26:08
Now,
26:09
perhaps I need
26:12
a doctorate
26:13
to understand
26:13
the arguments
26:14
of the Chaferian view.
26:16
And perhaps
26:17
that doctorate
26:18
would have to come
26:18
from Dallas
26:19
Theological Seminary.
26:22
But I want to suggest
26:23
that if I am
26:25
quick to hear
26:27
and slow to speak,
26:30
that the Bible
26:31
makes it plain
26:32
that we are to have,
26:34
if we're going to have
26:35
Jesus as our Savior,
26:37
then He must
26:38
also be our Lord.
26:42
I love the doctrine
26:43
of the perspicuity
26:44
of Scripture,
26:45
the clarity
26:46
of the Bible.
26:49
So let me just read
26:50
to you a couple of texts.
26:53
Jesus said
26:54
in John chapter 14
26:55
and verse 15,
26:56
this Jesus
26:57
that we're talking about,
26:59
He said,
26:59
if you love Me,
27:01
you will keep
27:03
My commandments.
27:06
How do we have
27:06
Jesus as Savior?
27:08
Certainly we love
27:09
Him as Savior.
27:11
He saved my soul
27:12
and suggests
27:13
that we don't
27:13
then have to keep
27:14
His commandments.
27:16
If we love Christ,
27:17
we love His commandments.
27:20
He must be our Savior
27:22
and our Lord.
27:23
God bless you
27:25
The Apostle Peter
27:25
wrote in 2 Peter chapter 1
27:27
and verse 10,
27:28
Therefore,
27:28
brothers,
27:30
be all the more diligent
27:31
to confirm your calling
27:32
and election.
27:34
And this is on the tail
27:35
of a bunch of qualities
27:36
that should be exhibited
27:37
in the life of a Christian.
27:38
For if you practice
27:39
these qualities,
27:40
you will never fall.
27:42
James,
27:45
the brother of Jesus,
27:45
wrote further
27:46
in this letter
27:47
that we're studying
27:48
in James chapter 2
27:49
and verse 14,
27:51
What good is it,
27:52
my brothers,
27:52
if someone says
27:53
he has faith
27:54
but does not have works?
27:57
Seems very clear to me.
27:59
As if he's saying,
28:00
What good is it,
28:00
my brothers,
28:01
if someone says
28:01
he has Jesus as Savior
28:03
but not as Lord?
28:05
Can that faith
28:07
save him?
28:09
James asks
28:10
and he'll go on
28:11
to argue
28:12
that it can't.
28:13
James chapter 2
28:14
and verse 20,
28:16
Do you want to be shown,
28:18
you foolish person,
28:19
that faith,
28:21
apart from works,
28:22
is useless?
28:25
The Apostle John
28:27
wrote in 1 John chapter 2
28:28
verse 15
28:29
and following,
28:31
Do not love the world
28:32
or the things in the world.
28:34
If anyone loves the world,
28:36
the love of the Father
28:37
is not
28:39
in him.
28:42
For all there's in the world
28:43
the desires of the flesh
28:44
and the desires of the eyes
28:45
and pride of life
28:47
is not from the Father
28:48
but is from
28:50
the world.
28:54
And in 1 John chapter 5
28:56
in verse 3,
28:58
John writes,
28:59
This is the love of God
29:00
that we keep
29:01
his commandments
29:02
and his commandments
29:04
are not
29:05
burdensome.
29:07
Many years ago
29:09
in the life
29:11
of this church
29:11
I had a young man
29:12
who was a
29:13
college student
29:14
at the time
29:14
walk up to me
29:15
and said,
29:16
My father is furious
29:17
with you.
29:19
This is not a thing
29:20
you want to hear
29:20
a college student
29:21
say,
29:22
although it's not
29:23
the only time
29:23
I've heard it.
29:24
I said,
29:27
Really?
29:27
Why?
29:28
And he said,
29:28
You're a heretic
29:30
because you believe
29:31
in lordship salvation.
29:33
And I had no concept.
29:34
I was like,
29:35
I don't know
29:36
what that even means.
29:38
And so I said to him,
29:39
Well,
29:39
I'm going to go look
29:40
into that.
29:40
If I've erred in any way
29:41
I certainly want to be
29:42
made aware of it.
29:43
I don't want to teach
29:44
a heresy
29:45
in the church.
29:47
So I went to my computer
29:50
that afternoon
29:50
and I typed in
29:51
lordship salvation
29:52
and very quickly
29:53
within a few moments
29:55
went,
29:55
Oh,
29:56
Oh yeah,
29:56
I totally believe
29:57
this to be the case.
29:58
If we're to have
29:59
Jesus as our savior,
30:00
he must be our Lord.
30:02
He's going to work in us
30:03
not with perfection.
30:05
Don't hear me say that.
30:07
I'm not saying I'm perfect.
30:08
That's not what I'm saying.
30:10
But if Jesus is my savior,
30:11
I will desire
30:12
to grow in holiness.
30:14
I want to honor him.
30:15
I want to listen
30:16
to his good commands.
30:19
So the next Lord's day,
30:21
I went to this young man
30:22
and I said,
30:22
Yep,
30:22
I would suggest to you
30:24
that I am not a heretic,
30:25
but that is what I believe
30:27
to be true.
30:28
And I turned to first John
30:29
chapter five in verse three.
30:30
This is the love of God
30:31
that we keep his commandments
30:33
and his commandments
30:34
are not burdensome.
30:37
And I'm very grateful
30:40
that this young guy
30:41
searched out the scripture
30:42
and stayed with our church
30:45
until he moved away
30:46
and he is our accountant
30:47
for our church
30:48
to this day.
30:52
Right?
30:52
So if Jesus is our Lord,
30:54
we will be pursuing holiness.
30:55
Right?
30:55
We will find this miraculous work
30:57
in us
30:58
that we'll want to turn away
30:59
from the things of the world
31:00
and turn toward
31:01
the things of God.
31:02
But we don't do this
31:03
immediately.
31:05
We don't do this
31:06
with perfection.
31:08
John also wrote
31:09
in first John chapter one
31:11
and verse eight,
31:11
if we say we have no sin,
31:13
we deceive ourselves
31:14
and the truth
31:16
is not in us.
31:18
Right?
31:18
So James warns us
31:19
that we ought to be very careful
31:20
not to deceive ourselves.
31:21
Right?
31:22
That we ought to be doers
31:23
of this word.
31:24
We ought to love
31:24
the commands of God
31:25
and want to follow God.
31:29
John also says,
31:29
but don't be deceived
31:31
and think that you
31:31
don't have
31:32
sin.
31:34
So we must be careful.
31:38
Do not be deceived.
31:41
We're going to be told
31:42
verse 25
31:43
that we're to persevere.
31:45
We're to continue
31:46
to follow.
31:47
That it's going to take
31:48
effort on our part.
31:52
And we do not do this alone.
31:56
This is why you need
31:57
the church.
31:59
The greatest affirmations
32:02
my salvation
32:03
is that I have a group
32:04
of people
32:05
that I walk together with.
32:06
A group of people
32:07
who are looking
32:08
into my life.
32:10
A group of people
32:11
who bring to me
32:11
loving correction
32:12
when I'm at fault.
32:14
That I might repent
32:15
and continue
32:16
to pursue
32:17
Christ.
32:20
We need the spirit.
32:21
We need the word.
32:21
We need
32:22
one another.
32:24
Be careful.
32:24
Do not be
32:25
deceived.
32:27
It is very possible
32:28
to be a hearer
32:29
of the word
32:30
and to think
32:30
that you're a Christian
32:31
and your life
32:32
looks nothing
32:33
like the word.
32:35
Don't be deceived.
32:37
Help others
32:37
not to be
32:39
deceived.
32:41
So this is the
32:41
way of the deceived.
32:44
Right?
32:45
Always hearing,
32:45
never acting.
32:48
But we also see
32:48
the way of the
32:49
blessed.
32:51
He says,
32:52
but the one who looks
32:53
into the perfect law
32:54
and this word,
32:57
this Greek word
32:57
looks means gaze.
32:59
It's a deep gazing.
33:00
Right?
33:00
It's not merely
33:01
a quick glance.
33:03
It's a staring
33:04
within the perfect
33:06
law.
33:07
Right?
33:07
The commands
33:08
given to us.
33:09
The law of liberty.
33:11
The gospel of Jesus
33:12
Christ that sets us
33:13
free from bondage
33:15
to having to earn
33:16
our acceptance
33:17
before God.
33:18
But the law of liberty
33:18
that sets us free
33:20
from that.
33:21
Sets us free
33:22
from having to
33:23
earn salvation,
33:25
which we cannot do.
33:26
But a glorious law
33:28
that we get to follow
33:30
now out of grateful
33:31
obedience to what
33:33
God has done
33:34
for us.
33:36
So the one who does
33:36
this,
33:37
who looks intently
33:38
into this law
33:40
and perseveres
33:41
in it,
33:42
who continues
33:42
to work,
33:43
to labor,
33:45
being no hearer
33:46
who forgets,
33:48
but a doer
33:49
who acts.
33:51
He will be,
33:52
there's this blessing
33:53
declared,
33:54
blessed.
33:54
He will be blessed.
33:56
In his doing.
34:00
So this brings us
34:01
on the back of your bulletin
34:02
to this final view,
34:03
which is most common
34:05
called the reformed view.
34:06
And just to be fair,
34:07
I put that on the sheet,
34:09
but I really just wanted
34:10
to say the biblical view.
34:15
I really make good effort
34:17
at being kind-hearted
34:18
to people that I disagree with.
34:23
And I disagree,
34:24
I disagree
34:24
with the Chafferian view
34:26
because I think
34:27
that it's damning
34:28
to people.
34:29
I think there are people
34:30
who think they're Christians
34:31
and they're fine
34:32
with that Jesus
34:33
is Savior piece.
34:34
They're okay with that.
34:35
They're like,
34:36
yeah, yeah,
34:36
got the Jesus is Savior
34:37
part of this
34:37
and I'm good.
34:40
And they think
34:41
they're in the faith
34:42
and they're not in the faith.
34:43
They're deceiving
34:43
themselves
34:45
and they're being deceived.
34:48
So,
34:49
the biblical view
34:50
of sanctification.
34:53
When we are saved,
34:55
which is entirely
34:56
a work of God,
34:57
we did nothing to earn it.
34:59
We could do nothing
35:00
to earn it.
35:01
We were dead in our sin.
35:02
He made us alive
35:03
in Christ.
35:05
We're submitting to him
35:06
both as Savior
35:08
and Lord.
35:11
And we don't do this perfectly.
35:12
We still carry around
35:13
the baggage of our flesh.
35:17
We have new hearts
35:18
but we still have our flesh.
35:21
And our flesh just loves sin
35:24
but our new hearts do not.
35:29
So,
35:29
it's the work of a Christian
35:31
as an individual
35:32
and a Christian in community
35:33
to take a careful look
35:35
of our lives,
35:36
to make our calling
35:37
and election sure,
35:38
to be constantly looking
35:39
and assessing
35:39
and not in an obsessive way,
35:42
but to ask,
35:43
am I growing in holiness?
35:46
Do I see an improvement
35:47
within me?
35:49
Do I love the things
35:50
of the world
35:50
or do I love the things
35:52
of God?
35:53
When I sin,
35:55
am I hardened
35:55
to that sin?
35:57
Or do I hate that sin?
35:58
Do I want
35:59
to put it off
36:00
and put on
36:01
righteousness?
36:03
Do I see
36:04
the Spirit of God
36:06
active
36:06
and at work in me?
36:08
Right?
36:09
As I take up the word,
36:11
am I being a doer
36:12
of the word?
36:15
This view
36:16
of sanctification
36:17
is synergistic.
36:20
It takes effort
36:22
on our part.
36:23
We don't let go
36:24
and let God.
36:25
We continue to work.
36:27
We pick up the daily things
36:28
that we ought to do.
36:29
The habits of grace.
36:31
The things that God
36:32
has given to us
36:32
to grow in Him.
36:35
And we press
36:36
and we press
36:36
and we press
36:37
recognizing all along
36:39
anything good
36:40
that we accomplish
36:41
is a work
36:42
of the Spirit
36:43
in our lives.
36:44
Bringing about obedience
36:45
bit by bit
36:47
by bit.
36:48
We ask others
36:49
to examine our lives.
36:51
Brother,
36:52
what do you think?
36:54
Am I in the faith?
36:55
Do you see me
36:56
growing in Christ?
36:57
When we have our doubts,
36:58
we look to our brothers.
37:00
Brother?
37:00
Sister?
37:01
Am I in the faith?
37:02
I've given much counsel
37:05
over the past decade plus
37:07
to people
37:08
who are doubting to say,
37:09
oh,
37:10
but I've watched your life
37:11
over these past years.
37:13
And you love
37:14
the things of God.
37:15
You are growing
37:16
in your faith.
37:21
Jesus tells a parable
37:22
in Matthew chapter 21
37:23
beginning in verse 28
37:24
and following.
37:25
He says,
37:26
what do you think?
37:27
A man had two sons
37:29
and he went to the first
37:30
and said,
37:30
son,
37:31
go and work
37:32
in the vineyard today.
37:33
And he answered,
37:35
I will not.
37:36
But afterward,
37:37
he changed his mind
37:38
and he went.
37:40
So he heard the word
37:42
and eventually
37:43
he was obedient
37:44
to the word.
37:46
And he went
37:47
to the other son
37:47
and said the same.
37:49
And he answered,
37:50
I go, sir,
37:51
but did not go.
37:53
So he heard the word,
37:54
but he was not obedient
37:56
to the word.
37:58
Jesus asked,
37:59
which of the two
38:00
did the will
38:01
of his father?
38:03
And they said,
38:04
these are the Pharisees,
38:05
the first,
38:06
Jesus said to them,
38:08
truly I say to you,
38:09
the tax collectors
38:10
and the prostitutes
38:11
go into the kingdom
38:11
of God before you.
38:14
Hated,
38:15
hated people
38:16
by the Pharisees.
38:17
For John came to you
38:19
in the way of righteousness
38:19
and you did not believe him.
38:22
But the tax collectors
38:23
and the prostitutes
38:24
believed him.
38:24
And even when you saw it,
38:26
you did not afterward
38:27
change your minds
38:28
and believe him.
38:32
Our belief
38:33
is evidenced
38:36
by our obedience.
38:38
Hear that.
38:39
Oh, hear that.
38:40
Do not be deceived.
38:43
Hear James' exhortation
38:45
one more time.
38:47
So at the beginning,
38:48
I said,
38:48
I just wanted to read it
38:49
and say, okay,
38:49
I'll read it one more time.
38:50
Well, I said a bunch of things
38:51
and now let me read it
38:53
one more time.
38:55
But be doers of the word
38:57
and not hearers only
38:59
deceiving yourselves.
39:02
For if anyone is a hearer
39:03
of the word
39:03
and not a doer,
39:04
he is like a man
39:05
who looks intently
39:05
at his natural face
39:07
in a mirror.
39:08
For he looks at himself
39:09
and goes away
39:10
and at once forgets
39:11
what he was like.
39:13
But the one who looks
39:14
into the perfect law,
39:16
the law of liberty,
39:18
and perseveres,
39:19
being no hearer
39:20
who forgets
39:21
but a doer who acts,
39:23
he will be blessed
39:24
in his doing.
39:26
Let's pray together.