Sunday, July 17, 2011
WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN?
I thought we would be returning to Job this morning, but it doesn’t appear that we are. I would like to remind you to please read Job 8 at least a couple of times before next Sunday.
This morning I just want to talk to you openly about a great concept in scripture. For many of us, it might seem to be a bit repetitious. However, none of us know as we ought to know. Some of you are still struggling with this concept and need to continue pursuing an understanding of it. I want to talk to you, but you can also talk to me.
Obviously, we are in different places. There are some of you who have known the Lord for over a half century. Others of you are still rather young in the faith. A number of you, both young and old, are still apart from the Lord. Though you know quite a bit about Him, you have not become a child of God by grace through faith. You are still dead in your trespasses and sins. While some of you are actively seeking the Lord, others of you are just drifting along. It is my desire that God would speak to everyone of us this morning through His Word.
Pray
Let’s begin with the basic question: What is a Christian? I realize that there are many ways to answer that question, but please allow me to give us some guidance.
A Christian is one who has been declared righteous by God Himself on the basis of his faith in Jesus Christ.
Rom 5:1, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"
But how does faith in Christ justify us? How does such faith make us right in God’s eyes?
2 Cor 5:21, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." God made Jesus to be sin for us. This is the concept of propitiation. 1 John 4:9-10, "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." God made Jesus to be the wrath-bearing sacrifice for us. Jesus bore our sins on the cross (I Pet. 2:24).
The Christian has put his faith in that Christ who is the propitiation for our sins. That is, he has trusted his life completely to the Christ who died and rose for him.
A Christian does not rely upon works for his salvation.
John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Rom 3:20-26, "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22. Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26. To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."
Eph 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast."
The Christian does not immediately live a life of perfect and practical righteousness. He still sins. Yet he is righteous before God. He has the righteousness of Christ. (II Cor. 5:21 -- “in him”)
The Christian can never boast that he did anything to achieve his salvation (nor does he desire to do so).
Rom 3:27-28, "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 28. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
Rom 4:2-4, "For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. 3. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt."
Eph 2:9, "Not of works, lest any man should boast."
A Christian doesn’t boast in his works, but he rejoices in the undeserved forgiveness that comes from God through Christ.
Ps. 51:1-17, To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. 14. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. 16. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Ps. 32:1-5, "A Psalm of David, Maschil. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. 3. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. 4. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. 5. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah."
1 Cor 1:26-31, "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28. And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29. That no flesh should glory in his presence. 30. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31. That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."
The Christian glories (rejoices in, boasts in) the cross of Jesus.
1 Cor 2:1-5, "And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."
Gal 6:14, "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."
The Christian knows that he is a child of God because God rescued him, even while he was dead in his tres-passes and sins.
John 6:38-40,44… "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day… No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."
Eph 2:1-5, "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: 2. Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3. Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)"
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Now let’s ask the question again, “What is a Christian?” But now we are going to pursue a different trail. We are going to look at the diamond from a different angle so that we can perceive more of its beauty.
The Christian has new life within.
John 3:1-8,16… "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit… For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 5:24, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
John 6:47-48, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. 48. I am that bread of life."
John 10:10, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
The Christian is a new creation in Christ; old things have passed away; all things have become new.
2 Cor 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
A Christian has been rescued not only from the penalty of sin, but also from the power of sin.
Matt. 1:21, "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."
Rom 6:14, "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."
The Christian hates sin and his habit of life is righteousness.
NKJV I John 3:2-10… 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. 10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.
A Christian walks on the narrow way, not the broad way.
Matt. 7:13-14, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
In short, the Christian is becoming like Jesus.
Rom 8:28-29, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."
1 Cor 15:49, "And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."
2 Cor 3:18, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
1 John 3:1-2, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
The Christian does the works God gives him to do.
Eph 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
2 Tim 3:16-17, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
… like Jesus did…
John 4:34, "Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work."
John 17:4, "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."
The Christian does not live for himself, but for the Christ who died and rose for him.
2 Cor 5:14-15, "For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15. And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again."
Someone might say, “That sounds really good, to live for Christ and not for self, but it’s easier to talk about it than to do it. But the Christian is not left to his own resources. Rather, the Spirit of God dwells within him and empowers him to live this kind of life.
John 7:37-39, "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"
Eph 5:18-21, "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God."
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So we see these two strands…
1. Rejoicing in the cross alone because we owe our salvation totally to God through Christ, and
2. Living a life of increasing conformity to Christ
The two of these are not always put together. Too often they are opposed to one another something like this…
1. I’m saved by grace, so it doesn’t matter how I live (while others say…)
2. Yes, God was gracious to send His Son, but there are still certain things I must do to become a child
of God (such as keeping the commandments, abstaining from certain bad sins, etc.).
Both of these are a corruption of the true gospel. Let’s put the two together by looking at…
John 8:30-31, "As he spake these words, many believed on him. 31. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;"
1. Many believed on Him (30)
John is often called “the gospel of belief,” because the word “believe” is used roughly 100 times in John. In this gospel account we see a great emphasis on believing in Jesus. In other words, it is justification by faith = right with God on the basis of believing on the Christ who died for our sins and rose again.
But when a person truly believes on Jesus, forsaking trust in himself and trusting all to Jesus, there is a demonstration of power…
2. If you continue in my word, then you are truly my disciples (31)
These are not two contrasting methods of salvation. They are simply…
a. Justification by faith (30), resulting in
b. A life of increasing conformity to Christ (31)
The first is the prerequisite for the second; the second is the evidence of the first.
Did they all continue in His word? Consider these passages from John…
John 8:47, "He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God."
John 14:15, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
John 14:23, "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
John 17:6, "I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word."
No, everyone who “believed” in Jesus did not continue in His Word. We have clear evidence of this in John 2:23-25, "Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. 24. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, 25. And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man."
Conclusion: One becomes a child of God when God Himself declares him righteous on the basis of what Jesus did through His death and resurrection. The recipient of this salvation simply trusts Christ (which includes repentance). Though he does nothing to earn this standing before God, the act of God that saves him also plants divine life within him, which results in an increasing likeness to Jesus Himself.
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