WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:14.800 I would like you to turn your Bible this morning, not to Ephesians chapter 2, where we are 00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:19.760 ! going to end up eventually, but I would like you to turn, if you would, over to Romans chapter 12, 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:24.960 1 and 2. We're going to take just a moment to frame things there in Romans chapter 12, 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:34.520 and then we are going to move into our text in Ephesians chapter 2. Romans chapter 12, by the 00:00:34.520 --> 00:00:41.700 way, is that changeover point in the book where the apostle moves from Romans chapter 12, actually, 00:00:41.700 --> 00:00:47.400 the changeover point where he moves from that matter of practical discussion of the theology 00:00:47.400 --> 00:00:53.520 of salvation then to the application of salvation. And one of the things that the Scriptures do over 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:58.020 and over again that I think it's important to remind ourselves of is that before it comes to 00:00:58.020 --> 00:01:04.060 the responsibilities we have, the Scriptures always lay the foundation upon the character, nature, 00:01:04.500 --> 00:01:11.280 blessings, goodness of God, so that our behavior is not something that earns us a relationship, 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:19.219 but is something that is the outcome of our relationship. Our faith then rests upon His 00:01:19.219 --> 00:01:25.980 goodness, and our relationship with Him rests upon His grace. Romans chapter 12, 00:01:25.980 --> 00:01:31.379 I have appealed to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as living 00:01:31.379 --> 00:01:39.939 sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual duty. Do not be conformed to the world, 00:01:40.379 --> 00:01:47.120 but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:53.780 what is good and acceptable and perfect. I want you to have that fixed in your mind just for a moment, 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:58.960 and now turn in your Bible over to the passage that we're going to be looking at there in Ephesians 00:01:58.960 --> 00:02:06.700 chapter 2, and go to Ephesians chapter 2. We're going to look at verse 8 and 9. Ephesians chapter 2, 00:02:06.700 --> 00:02:17.879 verse 8. It says, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. 00:02:18.199 --> 00:02:29.480 It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. I want you to recognize this 00:02:29.480 --> 00:02:35.640 morning as we think about the matter of salvation that every world system and every theological state 00:02:35.639 --> 00:02:41.839 that people have at least has some system of proposal about how you get from here to there. 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:46.899 I mean, most everybody recognizes that the world is a mess. You don't have to go very far, 00:02:47.059 --> 00:02:51.699 whether you're listening to the news or you're reading a newspaper or you're on the web or you're 00:02:51.699 --> 00:02:56.839 talking with your friends. You're around people that would confess things aren't the way they'd like 00:02:56.839 --> 00:03:02.679 them to be. And so whether you're talking about being a Hindu or a Buddhist or a Christian or you're 00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:09.480 talking about being a capitalist or a socialist, whatever you are, you have a system that proposes 00:03:09.480 --> 00:03:17.840 there is a way to move from point A to point B. The thing that sets Christianity entirely apart 00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:26.040 from every other world system is the fact that the Scriptures make it undeniably clear that God is the 00:03:26.040 --> 00:03:32.400 one who is the principal agent in the process of salvation. We don't save ourselves by working harder, 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:38.080 by being better people, by deciding that we're going to do a certain sequence of religious exercises 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:44.379 over a period of time, and those religious exercises will in time bring us to a state where we're in a 00:03:44.379 --> 00:03:51.099 good place. Now, the world proposes that, yes, there's a problem, and it doesn't take very much 00:03:51.099 --> 00:03:57.680 intelligence to figure out the world's a mess. But the question is, how do you go about solving that 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:05.680 problem? What is the remedy? How are things turned from where they are to where you would like them 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:10.800 to be, and more importantly, where God wants them to be? Well, we look here in Ephesians chapter 2, 00:04:10.840 --> 00:04:18.300 and here's what it says, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. 00:04:18.300 --> 00:04:25.899 It is the gift of God. It is not a result of work so that no one may boast. You could probably say that 00:04:25.899 --> 00:04:31.479 this passage, Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 and 9, is one of those central statements in Scripture. 00:04:31.599 --> 00:04:35.379 I'm wondering, how many of you have actually taken the time to memorize this at one point or another? 00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:39.939 Get your hand up high so I can kind of track. Ephesians chapter 2, how many of you think you'd 00:04:39.939 --> 00:04:45.399 be ready to say it right now and more or less recite it on spot? This is a wanting you get extra 00:04:45.399 --> 00:04:51.159 shares. Is that what Mike said, Mike Murphy? Where are you, Mike? Okay. Okay, he went out to work in 00:04:51.160 --> 00:04:56.660 junior church or something. We've all memorized that along. It's probably almost as familiar to 00:04:56.660 --> 00:05:02.040 most of us as something like John chapter 3, verse 16. Wouldn't you agree with that? It's one of those 00:05:02.040 --> 00:05:08.260 foundational passages that reminds us of really what salvation is, and I got to tell you, it is a 00:05:08.260 --> 00:05:13.180 very important and a very appropriate one. And so I want you to look with me this morning as we study 00:05:13.180 --> 00:05:21.540 this passage together and let me see if I can get this thing to work properly. Ah, why did I decide to 00:05:21.540 --> 00:05:37.199 use this? It was working. There we go. I got it. Okay. Thank you. And so I'm going to tell a story on 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:42.860 myself. I had backup notes in here, and I thought in my infinite wisdom I wouldn't need them, and so 00:05:42.860 --> 00:05:48.519 we're stuck. We will make it. I want you to look this morning, though, as we study this passage. 00:05:49.180 --> 00:05:54.459 I want you to understand that the Scripture makes it undeniably clear that salvation is exclusively 00:05:54.459 --> 00:06:01.659 the work of God. Salvation is something that God alone does, and the Scriptures don't leave any wiggle 00:06:01.659 --> 00:06:06.599 room on that point. I want you to take just a moment to go back earlier, if you would, to the 00:06:06.600 --> 00:06:12.379 beginning of Ephesians chapter 2 and kind of consider the state in which mankind finds themselves. 00:06:12.900 --> 00:06:19.900 All of mankind is equally cursed by the fall and sin. And as you look at Ephesians chapter 2, 00:06:19.980 --> 00:06:24.040 verse 1 through 5, we find a couple different points that really stand out. It says, 00:06:24.180 --> 00:06:30.720 for one, we were dead in our sins. How do dead people respond to various stimuli? Have you ever 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:36.080 leaned over the coffin and said, would you come back? Or would you probably just rise up? 00:06:36.600 --> 00:06:42.160 And don't be playing this game. We'd like you home. That doesn't work. Dead people have no 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:49.040 response. It goes on and says this, we were slaves to Satan and slaves to our passion. And if you think 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:56.500 back to what it was like to be an unbeliever prior to your conversion, there was this unhappy state in 00:06:56.500 --> 00:07:02.960 which you existed where you did things and you enjoyed doing them, but the consequences was that 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:08.899 you always endured the outcome of what sin produces in your life. I like to refer to it as the unintended 00:07:08.899 --> 00:07:14.379 consequences of sin. You don't always stop and do the math and figure out how it's going to end up, 00:07:14.439 --> 00:07:19.179 but you get rolling into a behavior and a pattern of thinking. And the next thing you know, you're 00:07:19.179 --> 00:07:25.199 dealing with the baggage that sin creates and you're sorry for it. Now, mark this, listen carefully. 00:07:25.599 --> 00:07:31.799 There's a difference between the kind of sorrow that the world has for sin and the sorrow that God 00:07:31.800 --> 00:07:37.960 produces in the heart. What's the difference? The world is only sorry about the consequences. 00:07:38.660 --> 00:07:45.860 The world is not sorry for what sin does to God and what it does to compromise the glory and the 00:07:45.860 --> 00:07:52.680 testimony of God, not an interest in the God part of the equation. It also reminds us in that passage 00:07:52.680 --> 00:07:59.519 in Ephesians chapter 2 that we were doomed, as it says there, that we were doomed to eternal judgment. 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:04.859 And I think that's one of the reasons why the unbeliever, when they consider the prospect of 00:08:04.859 --> 00:08:09.719 their own death, they never come about thinking, whoa, that's a great thing. I'm going to die and 00:08:09.719 --> 00:08:15.579 someday it's going to be wonderful. Last week, I had the privilege of doing a funeral, actually the 00:08:15.579 --> 00:08:22.180 week before. And while I was doing that funeral, one of the things that I noticed, majority of people 00:08:22.180 --> 00:08:26.859 who were listening to me, it's always a mistake when you call an evangelical pastor to do a sermon 00:08:26.860 --> 00:08:31.819 for a funeral because guess what you're going to get? You're going to get a couple different things. 00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:36.919 One is you're going to get the gospel. And the gospel always begins, surprise, it begins with bad 00:08:36.919 --> 00:08:43.940 news. What's the bad news? The bad news is that we are sinners justly condemned before a holy God. 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:51.000 And so when people invite an evangelical pastor to come and preach the message at a funeral, 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:55.580 one of the things they're going to hear is the simplicity of the gospel. And one of the things 00:08:55.580 --> 00:09:02.100 that I read when I'm paying attention, speaking, I read faces and I can tell those who are kind of 00:09:02.100 --> 00:09:07.559 fired up by the thought of, man, here we go. I like that part. He's going to talk about Jesus and he's 00:09:07.559 --> 00:09:11.740 going to talk about the gospel. There are people sometimes are going, whoo, whoo, go pastor. 00:09:11.740 --> 00:09:19.560 And there are others who said, who, who invited him? Were we thinking right when we called him? 00:09:20.220 --> 00:09:24.919 You know, and so I was watching these faces. I would like to use the word dour. 00:09:26.539 --> 00:09:33.879 I was looking out across a large group of people that had dour faces. And the further I went, I 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:38.240 started out pretty chipper, I thought, you know. I mean, pastors should smile when they're talking 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:44.240 about Jesus. I started that way. I ended that way. But I kind of watched a cloud come over the room 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:50.360 as I talked about the fact that, you know, there is none righteous, no, not one. There's not one that 00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:55.399 seeks after God. And I went on and explained. I said, you know, and the idea that most everybody, 00:09:55.519 --> 00:10:01.340 I said, there are a couple very common misconceptions that I hear at funerals. One is, doesn't that person 00:10:01.340 --> 00:10:06.980 look good lying there in the casket? I said, that's an extension of truth. 00:10:06.980 --> 00:10:12.700 I've never seen a dead person looks better than a living person. I said, the other thing that I 00:10:12.700 --> 00:10:17.840 always get blown away by is when a person says something like this, well, they're in a better 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:23.560 place. And I had the gall to tell people that that's not always true because not everyone goes 00:10:23.560 --> 00:10:33.060 to a better place. You see, as we look at the state of the unbeliever, as we find in the first five 00:10:33.059 --> 00:10:40.019 verses of Ephesians chapter 2, we see here, it says that we, prior to our conversion, were dead, 00:10:40.599 --> 00:10:46.839 slaves, and doomed to eternity in hell. But then it comes about and it makes this wonderful statement 00:10:46.839 --> 00:10:51.759 there in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8, where it says, for by grace you're saved. How is it that you 00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:57.979 got saved? Salvation is exclusively the work of God. That's what we see here. And Paul wraps up his 00:10:57.980 --> 00:11:03.039 declaration in that argument in the first five verses by making a statement there in verse 5, 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:08.100 mark it, by grace you've been saved. And kind of making that statement, guess what he does? 00:11:08.279 --> 00:11:15.680 He kind of has this, I wouldn't call it knee-jerk, but it's almost an instinctive response. When he 00:11:15.680 --> 00:11:20.940 thinks about grace, he can't help himself but talk about the Lord Jesus. And so that's what we find 00:11:20.940 --> 00:11:26.240 in verse 6 and 7. It's kind of this little outburst of thanksgiving for the Lord Jesus. 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:33.200 Then he comes back around to his theme, and he picks up and explains very carefully in verse 8 and 9 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:40.700 that it is salvation comes about by the grace of God alone. Now, when the Bible says that we are saved 00:11:40.700 --> 00:11:47.440 by grace, it is announcing that our salvation is the result of the unmerited, now mark this, 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:54.159 it is the unmerited kindness of God. Grace means that you're getting something that you didn't earn or 00:11:54.159 --> 00:12:00.719 deserve. So why were you saved? Well, you know, God knew I was a pretty good person, and he just 00:12:00.719 --> 00:12:07.519 thought maybe I needed a couple little extra bonus points. I remember in school, it never seemed fair 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:12.879 to me, but the ones who got the extra bonus points weren't the ones who needed them the worst. 00:12:13.659 --> 00:12:18.019 I was one who always was kind of hoping that there'd be a little bit of mercy shown, 00:12:18.019 --> 00:12:21.980 and I never seemed to get it. Of course, I did kind of earn some of the heart that I had. 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:27.100 But, you know, people think about grace, and they miss the point that grace means 00:12:27.100 --> 00:12:34.220 the unmerited kindness in favor of God. And the Bible clearly states that we are saved not because 00:12:34.220 --> 00:12:38.639 of who we are or even because of what God knew we would eventually become. 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:46.379 I think about how one of the keys, I was watching Indiana basketball last night, I have to confess 00:12:46.379 --> 00:12:53.340 that. I grew up partly in Indiana when I was in college, and so I've been interested in IU basketball 00:12:53.340 --> 00:12:56.960 for a long time, and now they're doing finally well again. They're doing well finally again. So 00:12:56.960 --> 00:13:01.419 watching them last night, and one of the things that a coach always hopes is they're going to find 00:13:01.419 --> 00:13:08.580 somebody in the sixth grade who is in that profoundly gangly state, and the coach begins to invest in the 00:13:08.580 --> 00:13:14.460 kid. And then he ends up being one of these seven-foot Cody Zellers, you know, that can put the basket in 00:13:14.460 --> 00:13:19.100 behind his back with his eyes closed. You know, everything works out perfectly, and he wins all 00:13:19.100 --> 00:13:25.720 the games. And so you want to pick somebody good, and that's not why God picked me. It's not why God 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:33.220 picked you. He picked us because of His grace. Grace frees us, by the way, from boasting in what isn't your 00:13:33.220 --> 00:13:40.060 own. Do you realize that? It includes taking away from you the privilege of describing that, 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:46.180 well, I repented, or that I came about to believe in this because of my own sound judgment and my 00:13:46.180 --> 00:13:53.960 intellect. I figured it all out, and well, it worked out for me. Even our faith is a work of grace. 00:13:54.800 --> 00:13:59.920 The reason we have faith is because of His grace in the sense that faith is the transmission 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:06.879 or the channel that applies the grace of God in our lives. We are not saved because we have faith, 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:11.639 because of our own initiative or our own ability, but because of the grace of God that works in us 00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:16.079 to give us faith. Now, I want to explain that a little bit further by helping you understand that 00:14:16.079 --> 00:14:20.740 faith really is due to the work of the Spirit of God. And there are several different passages 00:14:20.740 --> 00:14:25.899 I want you to track with me to make this undeniably clear. Turn back in your Bible, if you will, 00:14:25.899 --> 00:14:33.740 to John chapter 6. We're dealing with the fact that faith is something that comes about by the 00:14:33.740 --> 00:14:38.699 grace of God, and mark what it says in John chapter 6. Now, remember the context of what had happened. 00:14:39.539 --> 00:14:46.159 In John chapter 6, we find Jesus preaching a very lengthy sermon, and the outcome is that the 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:52.379 majority of people do what? They all come forward on the third verse of just as I am. Is that what 00:14:52.379 --> 00:15:02.899 happens? No, they all leave. And Jesus explains that departure in John chapter 6, verse 63. He says this, 00:15:03.539 --> 00:15:08.139 it is the Spirit who gives life. You might want to underline that. How is it that a person comes to 00:15:08.139 --> 00:15:14.919 Christ? It is the work of the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit that gives life. The flesh is no help at 00:15:14.919 --> 00:15:21.659 all. The words that I've spoken to you are Spirit and life. Then in verse 65, and he said, this is why I 00:15:21.659 --> 00:15:27.360 told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted to him by the Father. I want you to look 00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:33.219 ahead to another passage in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 3, and we're paying attention here to 00:15:33.219 --> 00:15:40.860 different passages that make it clear to us that our faith is really the work of the Spirit of God 00:15:40.860 --> 00:15:46.259 that brings us to the point of responding appropriately to the things that God has told us. 00:15:46.259 --> 00:15:55.559 Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 3. Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the 00:15:55.559 --> 00:16:04.939 Spirit of God ever says Jesus is accursed, and no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit. 00:16:05.139 --> 00:16:10.639 Now, how is it that a person comes to faith? What do they have to say? They have to confess what? 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:18.960 That Jesus Christ is what? Lord. And 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 3 makes it clear. Let me read 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:25.620 that little portion to you again. No one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit. Now, 00:16:25.699 --> 00:16:31.199 can an unbeliever sitting here this morning just mouth the words? What's the answer? Yeah, you can. 00:16:32.019 --> 00:16:35.960 That's not what it's talking about. It's talking about having conviction in your heart that that is 00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:42.019 indeed true. And by the prompting of the Spirit of God, your heart responds and you say, you know what? 00:16:42.280 --> 00:16:48.360 Jesus is Lord. He's Lord. Let me have you look at another passage just for a moment. Turn over, 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:54.980 if you would, to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, or chapter 1, verse 4 through 6. 1 Thessalonians 00:16:54.980 --> 00:16:59.240 chapter 1, verse 4 through 6. 00:17:03.300 --> 00:17:09.259 For we know, brothers, beloved of God, that He has chosen you because our gospel came to you not 00:17:09.259 --> 00:17:15.900 only in word but also in power and the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. Very interesting, isn't it? 00:17:15.900 --> 00:17:21.559 Here's Paul saying, look, I just want you to know that I am so blessed that God loved you and He's 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:27.980 chosen you. And the way I know that is because the gospel which we preached came to you with power and 00:17:27.980 --> 00:17:34.839 with the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. He is saying that as I saw what happened as a result 00:17:34.839 --> 00:17:40.940 of the preaching of the Word of God, the things that took place in your life were undeniable evidence of 00:17:40.940 --> 00:17:48.799 your genuine conversion. And that was the work of the Spirit of God. The Spirit was the one who produced 00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:54.759 in you the sensibility or the sensitivity to the truth of God and you responded in faith. 00:17:56.279 --> 00:18:02.379 A salvation is exclusively, if you go back there in Ephesians and turn back, if you will, to chapter 2, 00:18:03.099 --> 00:18:11.500 salvation is exclusively the gift of God. There at the end of verse 8, it says this, it said, 00:18:11.639 --> 00:18:16.259 it is the gift of God. Now, the difference between a gift and something you earn is what? 00:18:16.259 --> 00:18:24.420 How many of you get paid on a regular basis? How many of you, when you get your paycheck, 00:18:24.920 --> 00:18:31.579 say to your boss, thank you so much for this wonderful gift? Do you do that? Now, you may 00:18:31.579 --> 00:18:37.099 thank your boss for a job because there are people that don't have jobs. But for the most part, 00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:40.740 you get that check because you've done what? Well, what is it that you do? 00:18:40.740 --> 00:18:48.339 You showed up. You've done the tasks that were assigned to you. You've had a reasonable spirit. 00:18:49.099 --> 00:18:53.319 You've taken on the challenges that your work requires. And in everything, you've kind of 00:18:53.319 --> 00:18:59.140 done what has been expected at the end of the week or every two weeks or once a month. Your boss gives 00:18:59.140 --> 00:19:04.519 you that check and he says, hey, appreciate what you've done. Here's your pay. And is it a gift? 00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:12.720 The answer is no. You earned it. When we talk about a gift, we talk about something that we have not 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:19.920 done anything to receive. And when it says there in that passage, it is the gift of God. It is talking 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:28.500 about the fact that salvation is not something we earn or deserve. And so when you bump into a person, 00:19:28.619 --> 00:19:32.680 when you ask them that question, so why do you believe you will get to heaven? And they say, 00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:38.360 well, I've been a pretty good person. What are they telling you? They're announcing fundamentally 00:19:38.360 --> 00:19:44.740 that they believe that salvation is something they work for. They did something to receive 00:19:44.740 --> 00:19:50.460 the benefit of God's smile. Now they'll kind of say tongue in cheek, well, I'm hoping my good outweighs 00:19:50.460 --> 00:19:55.759 the bad. And that's kind of a humble way of saying, you know, I'm doing the best I can. I'm not as bad 00:19:55.759 --> 00:19:58.799 as the guy down the street that I know, that kind of thing. But at the end of the day, 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:04.980 a works righteousness proposes that the reason we can get salvation is we've done our part. 00:20:05.740 --> 00:20:11.639 And the scripture says, salvation is a gift. Well, then actually we see that the scriptures go even 00:20:11.639 --> 00:20:17.700 further. And coming back around on this passage, we'll notice that first of all, Paul has said some 00:20:17.700 --> 00:20:23.539 positive things. Salvation is a matter of grace. Salvation is a gift. But now notice the negatives. 00:20:23.539 --> 00:20:29.399 He's put those as well in the picture for us. And he makes the point two different times here in the 00:20:29.399 --> 00:20:37.420 passage. He says, it is not your own doing. And then in verse 9, it is not a result of works. 00:20:39.079 --> 00:20:45.200 Having made the point from the positive, he now turns around and he speaks about it in a negative. 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:48.940 It's a little bit like, how many of you have ever had a nail that just won't get down? And what you do 00:20:48.940 --> 00:20:54.580 is you pick up the hammer and you give it one more what? You whop it again and you sink it nicely. 00:20:54.799 --> 00:21:00.759 And that's what Paul does with this not, not phrase. He is driving the point home. Now, salvation 00:21:00.759 --> 00:21:08.279 is not something that man have an independent part in. And when I mean independent, it means that they 00:21:08.279 --> 00:21:13.200 just kind of do it on their own. The statement's hard to accept, though, when we stop and realize of 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:17.840 what it says in scripture. Let me give you a couple of recitations on that. It says that we must confess 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:25.759 with our mouth and we must believe in our heart in order to be saved. Now, how is it that we get to 00:21:25.759 --> 00:21:31.319 that point? And that's what we're dealing with. I want you to recognize that what Paul is saying 00:21:31.319 --> 00:21:39.559 is that salvation is not something that we do on our own. It is not a work so that no one may boast. 00:21:39.639 --> 00:21:46.319 And look at the passage there, if you will, again. It says, so that no one, no one may boast. How is it 00:21:46.319 --> 00:21:53.220 that you got to heaven? Well, you know what? I heard it explained. It made a lot of sense to me. 00:21:53.899 --> 00:22:00.379 I figured it out and I decided here was what I was going to do. No. I want you to recognize that God 00:22:00.379 --> 00:22:06.740 is passionate about reserving His glory to Himself and also at the same time protecting His children 00:22:06.740 --> 00:22:11.659 from the self-harm of overreaching pride. I want you to consider what it's saying. 00:22:11.660 --> 00:22:18.279 God protects us. And it's not only in the matter of salvation. We see this over and over again at 00:22:18.279 --> 00:22:22.580 different places in the Scriptures. Let me give you a couple different illustrations so you can see it. 00:22:22.920 --> 00:22:30.080 Turn back, if you will, to Judges chapter 7. Way back in the Old Testament, Judges. 00:22:31.720 --> 00:22:35.620 Any of you familiar with the passage, you'll remember that this is the story of Gideon. 00:22:35.619 --> 00:22:43.479 Gideon. And Gideon, by the way, was not what you would call the typical hero of the Old Testament that 00:22:43.479 --> 00:22:49.259 was kind of just sitting around waiting for an opportunity to show his stuff and make God look 00:22:49.259 --> 00:22:58.679 good. What was he? He was the typical, unassuming, insecure, uncertain individual. And God came along and 00:22:58.679 --> 00:23:05.000 said, hey, by the way, Gideon, I have something I want you to do. And then Gideon went ahead and 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:11.180 followed, obeyed God, chopped down the idolatrous images, and everybody was all upset with him. 00:23:11.460 --> 00:23:15.779 And what happened as a result of that is the Philistines were going to come and have a battle 00:23:15.779 --> 00:23:20.799 with Israel. Now mark what it says in Judges chapter 7 verse 2. 00:23:21.539 --> 00:23:27.920 The Lord said to Gideon, the people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their 00:23:27.920 --> 00:23:34.380 hands, lest Israelite boast over me, saying my own hand to save me. Now I want you to understand math. 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:43.440 At this point, okay, there were about 32,000 of the Israelites against this unbelievable army 00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:50.680 of the Midianites. Numbers being a small thing, 32,000 to whatever else the other number was, 00:23:50.740 --> 00:23:55.460 it was quite a lot larger than this. But God says, you know what, I'm a little concerned 00:23:55.460 --> 00:24:01.799 because there are too many people for me to accomplish my purposes. Because if I pull this 00:24:01.799 --> 00:24:08.859 off, which I'm going to do, the natural heart of man is going to say, hey, I did it. Look what we did. 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:15.220 Brilliant strategy. We used a little trumpet and we used a little lantern or whatever else, 00:24:15.399 --> 00:24:21.059 and we just absolutely terrified the enemy into killing themselves. Great, great idea. 00:24:21.059 --> 00:24:27.679 And so as you know, God whittles down the 32,000 to about how many? How many of you remember how many? 00:24:28.879 --> 00:24:33.940 Just a paltry little 300. That's quite a little bit of reduction, isn't it? 00:24:34.839 --> 00:24:41.200 Now, aren't you glad that God told Gideon ahead of time why he was going to take this strategy? 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:48.259 Because there in verse 2, God says to Gideon, you know what, this is too big of a crowd because 00:24:48.259 --> 00:24:53.680 if things work out or when they work out, there are going to be people around kind of bumping their 00:24:53.680 --> 00:25:00.319 chests and saying, look what we did. You know, last year, Tebow was doing that T-bowing in the end zone. 00:25:00.559 --> 00:25:05.660 Now we have a guy kissing his bicep. Do you see that on TV? What is he celebrating? 00:25:05.660 --> 00:25:13.259 You know, try that again. What's he celebrating? He's kind of all about himself, isn't he? 00:25:13.480 --> 00:25:18.200 Can I tell you something? This is a prophetic utterance. He won't be around doing that very long. 00:25:19.220 --> 00:25:27.840 Trust me. There's something in Scripture that says this, God helps the humble. He what? He resists 00:25:27.840 --> 00:25:32.360 the proud. Just kind of mark it time calendar somewhere and say, I wonder how long this guy is 00:25:32.359 --> 00:25:38.559 going to keep on kissing his bicep before he's not kissing his bicep anymore. You see, God is all about 00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:45.799 protecting his own glory, whether it is dealing with believers or unbelievers. The only thing about 00:25:45.799 --> 00:25:50.719 believers is that he's really steroidal about not letting us get away with it, even for a minute. 00:25:51.879 --> 00:25:56.539 He'll let the unbeliever get away with it a little longer, but the believer, he is right on it quick. 00:25:56.539 --> 00:26:04.379 Do you understand that? Because whom the Lord loves, what? He chastens. Well, let's look at another 00:26:04.379 --> 00:26:10.339 passage where we see God at work to preserve his glory. In turn, if you will, you were in Ephesians, 00:26:10.440 --> 00:26:19.460 then you went to Judges, but we'll go to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul is 00:26:19.460 --> 00:26:28.460 defending, can you imagine that? The apostle defending his gospel ministry. And he had critics that were 00:26:28.460 --> 00:26:34.220 going around saying, you know, Paul would have a greater impact if he would kind of get with the 00:26:34.220 --> 00:26:43.920 times. I mean, the Greeks and the Romans loved a lot of philosophical, esoteric conversations and 00:26:43.920 --> 00:26:52.759 debates. And Paul was just out there doing this real, real simple gospel message. And people were critical. 00:26:53.980 --> 00:27:00.019 And he explains that the power of the gospel is in the truth of the gospel, not in his eloquence or the 00:27:00.019 --> 00:27:05.080 philosophic arguments that he was giving. And then he goes on and explains, he says, by the way, look around 00:27:05.080 --> 00:27:12.360 at the kind of people that God has saved. Look at verse 27. For God chose what is foolish in the world to shame 00:27:12.359 --> 00:27:18.919 the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised 00:27:18.919 --> 00:27:25.159 in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being 00:27:25.159 --> 00:27:32.399 may boast in the presence of God. I want to come back to Ephesians chapter 2. Go back that passage, 00:27:32.539 --> 00:27:37.759 if you would, and mark what the apostle has to say regarding the matter of salvation. He says, 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:45.099 listen, not of works, lest no man may boast. And that brings me to the final little part that I want 00:27:45.099 --> 00:27:51.779 us to think together about this morning and just mark the fact of how does the gospel affect us? 00:27:52.440 --> 00:27:58.140 I mean, for you as a believer this morning, how does the truth of the gospel really end up affecting 00:27:58.140 --> 00:28:04.119 you? I would ask you whether or not this morning or in this last week, there have been some times 00:28:04.119 --> 00:28:11.379 where your heart has been affected by self-doubt or insecurity or disappointment, or you're wondering 00:28:11.379 --> 00:28:16.019 whether other people like you or how things are going to work out in your life. There are all kinds 00:28:16.019 --> 00:28:21.919 of little rabbit trails that our minds can run on. I want you to come back and think with me about this 00:28:21.919 --> 00:28:30.479 fact. Salvation is profoundly real. It is unbelievable, and it's overwhelming. When we think about 00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:38.240 what salvation is to us, it is something that just blows our mind away, and I trust that is true of 00:28:38.240 --> 00:28:44.039 you today, that when you stop and consider the reality of salvation and your heart connects with 00:28:44.039 --> 00:28:50.440 that truth, that it makes a difference in the view you have of the life you live, the view of what other 00:28:50.440 --> 00:28:56.019 people think of you, and the view of how things are going to work out in your life. 00:28:56.019 --> 00:29:03.019 Salvation, for one thing, takes a rebel and turns them into a worshiper. Do you understand that? 00:29:04.059 --> 00:29:09.180 Salvation takes a rebel and turns them into a worshiper. And I want you to stop and think with 00:29:09.180 --> 00:29:15.720 me just for a moment about how that happened. In every one of our cases, in every one of our cases, 00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:22.740 we did not move from being a rebel and idolater to becoming a worshiper just by a matter of simple, 00:29:22.740 --> 00:29:29.960 mere intellectual comprehension. We moved from that state because, first of all, the grace of God 00:29:29.960 --> 00:29:38.380 profoundly convicted us of our own sin and wickedness. Many of you here this morning are parents, 00:29:39.700 --> 00:29:46.620 and one of the things that you have had the joy of watching take place in your life is the Spirit of 00:29:46.619 --> 00:29:52.339 God beginning to convict your children about what sin is. Do you remember those days, some of you? 00:29:53.179 --> 00:29:59.179 Where did it come from? It didn't come from a Sunday school lesson. It didn't come from the Bible 00:29:59.179 --> 00:30:05.259 verses that you were having them memorize or study as you were having devotions as a family. It came 00:30:05.259 --> 00:30:10.179 about because the Spirit of God was working in their heart to convict them of the misery of their soul 00:30:10.180 --> 00:30:16.759 and helped them realize that they were condemned before a holy God. Salvation is something that 00:30:16.759 --> 00:30:25.480 happens because of God's grace, and it brings life to a dead person. It brings freedom to a person that 00:30:25.480 --> 00:30:32.580 was in bonds. I want you to recognize, secondly, that salvation leaves the genuine convert with a new 00:30:32.580 --> 00:30:39.620 and abounding amazement and awe in what salvation is. And I would suggest that we ought never get over 00:30:39.619 --> 00:30:44.779 that. In fact, that's probably one of the things that should genuinely characterize the true believer. 00:30:45.479 --> 00:30:54.579 Let me say it again, slowly. The true believer is one who never gets over the absolute amazement of 00:30:54.579 --> 00:31:05.199 their conversion. Never gets over the absolute amazement of their conversion. I want you to look at 00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:09.799 another passage with me this morning as we consider this, and I actually recited it earlier today. 00:31:10.180 --> 00:31:18.460 But I want you to turn your Bible to 1 John chapter 3. Incidentally, the book of 1 John is a book for 00:31:18.460 --> 00:31:28.460 self-diagnosis, right? It is a book that deals with the matter of how can you tell that you have the real 00:31:28.460 --> 00:31:38.759 thing. That's important because Satan is what's one of the titles for Satan? He's the deceiver. And you know what? 00:31:38.880 --> 00:31:46.220 He would like nothing better than to deceive individuals with the idea that they have genuine conversion 00:31:46.220 --> 00:31:54.519 when they don't. Because when they discover at the end of their life, when they slip from this life into eternity, 00:31:54.519 --> 00:32:01.759 that's too late to think about whether you have salvation or not. And so 1 John is written as a 00:32:01.759 --> 00:32:09.440 diagnostic. It's written as a self-diagnosis. How do I know that I have salvation? One of the things that's a 00:32:09.440 --> 00:32:16.000 giveaway for the genuine believer is that there is this abounding sense of awe and just amazement that 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:22.180 God saved you. Look at verse 1 in chapter 3. 1 John chapter 3 verse 1. 00:32:22.180 --> 00:32:29.799 See what manner of love the Father has given unto us that we should be called the children of God. 00:32:31.539 --> 00:32:40.880 John is just ecstatic when he stops and says, wow. The text does not do an adequate job of explaining the 00:32:40.880 --> 00:32:46.180 force of the argument that John is making when he says, I like it in the King James, it says what? 00:32:46.180 --> 00:32:55.080 Behold. It's like, oh man, look at this. Look at what kind of love the Father has bestowed upon us 00:32:55.080 --> 00:33:00.779 that we should be called the sons of God. And when we, convicted by the Spirit of God, realize the 00:33:00.779 --> 00:33:09.360 absolute bankruptcy of our personal soul, we then are in a state ready to be amplified or in a state where 00:33:09.359 --> 00:33:15.359 we kind of see the benefit and blessing of our salvation. Wow. I can't believe that God loves me 00:33:15.359 --> 00:33:21.379 like He does. And recognize several of the things that His salvation does for us. His grace moves us 00:33:21.379 --> 00:33:29.479 from idolatry to worship. From idolatry to worship. And by the way, even today, on occasion, we who are 00:33:29.479 --> 00:33:35.039 believers still get caught up in idolatry, don't we? Everybody look at me and smile. How many of you find 00:33:35.039 --> 00:33:41.019 that sometimes you're caught up in anxiety? Don't wave your hand at me. But anxiety is really the 00:33:41.019 --> 00:33:46.980 unintended consequences of self-idolatry. How many of you understand that statement? If you're 00:33:46.980 --> 00:33:51.619 worshiping the God who you think is in control and the God who you think is in control, you, 00:33:51.779 --> 00:34:00.839 is not doing a very good job, it's reasonable to be anxious. It's intelligent. And when we start 00:34:00.839 --> 00:34:06.759 worrying about, well, wonder if people like me. Really? Well, I know one person who really does 00:34:06.759 --> 00:34:13.039 like you. I mean, and that person actually knows all of your bumps and warts. And it even knows things 00:34:13.039 --> 00:34:19.119 that you haven't told anybody else. Jesus loves you. And He hasn't changed His mind about you. Nor will 00:34:19.119 --> 00:34:25.940 He ever change His mind about you. I want you to remember that His grace moves us from idolatry to 00:34:25.940 --> 00:34:31.380 becoming worshipers. It delivers us from the fear of judgment. Do you know what it says? There is now, 00:34:31.519 --> 00:34:38.260 therefore, no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. The story is done. We are delivered. We're 00:34:38.260 --> 00:34:45.280 freed. We no longer sit with uncertainty and anxiety. I remember several years ago being down at Franklin 00:34:45.280 --> 00:34:52.659 County Courthouse, and I was sitting outside with a...I wasn't there. I was there to bear witness for 00:34:52.659 --> 00:34:59.359 somebody else. At least you wonder if I was down there as a future felon. I was sitting there to 00:34:59.359 --> 00:35:04.920 be a witness, character witness. And I am a people watcher. I pay attention to people's faces, and some 00:35:04.920 --> 00:35:10.619 of you are a dower this morning, you know. And I was watching, and there...I just...bench upon bench of 00:35:10.619 --> 00:35:19.559 people with these really kind of scowly looking...and there were also individuals who, on top of having 00:35:19.559 --> 00:35:25.320 the scowl of life because things weren't going very well, they had those little furtive guilty glances 00:35:25.320 --> 00:35:31.519 that, well, I know I've been caught for this, but I sure hope I...you know what I'm saying? Parents, 00:35:31.659 --> 00:35:37.119 talk to me. When your kids come up and they can't look you in the eye, what are you thinking? Good heart, 00:35:37.579 --> 00:35:43.279 good kid, nothing I need to press any further on, right? Well, I'm going back to the Franklin County 00:35:43.280 --> 00:35:48.980 and the bench out there outside the judge's chambers, and you see just a bunch of people 00:35:48.980 --> 00:35:54.740 that are rather insecure and uncertain. They're afraid of judgment. I'm not afraid of judgment. 00:35:55.780 --> 00:36:01.120 Not because of me, but because of the finished work of Christ. I want you to understand that His grace 00:36:01.120 --> 00:36:09.900 removes our shame. His grace takes away all of our shame. I am thinking just for a moment about the 00:36:09.900 --> 00:36:15.860 woman at the well. Do you remember that woman? She came...or actually, Jesus came into the town and 00:36:15.860 --> 00:36:21.720 ended up at the well, and down comes this woman, and Jesus said, would you give me a drink? And she says, 00:36:21.760 --> 00:36:27.320 hey, what are you doing hitting on me? That's what she said. And He asked her a question. It's a real 00:36:27.320 --> 00:36:37.360 interesting question. What was it? Go call your husband. And she, thinking to dodge the moment, 00:36:37.360 --> 00:36:42.280 she says, what? Well, I don't have a husband. She says, you're right. He said, you're right. You've had 00:36:42.280 --> 00:36:49.720 how many? Five. And to top it off, the one you're with right now is not your husband. She was engaged in 00:36:49.720 --> 00:36:57.240 what? Serial adultery. And Jesus then proceeds to bring the grace of God into her life, and when the 00:36:57.240 --> 00:37:03.059 story ends, she is scampered back into town, and what's she doing? She's saying, hey, now listen to what 00:37:03.059 --> 00:37:15.000 she says. Come, see the man who told me all I've ever done. What have you done? Oh, I was a miserable, 00:37:15.279 --> 00:37:21.900 hopeless sinner, and Jesus has given me complete forgiveness. One other thing that salvation does, 00:37:22.259 --> 00:37:30.079 it removes the terror of what other people think about us and leads us to think about Him. Do you 00:37:30.079 --> 00:37:36.739 hear me what I said? It removes the terror of what we think other people think about us and leads us to 00:37:36.739 --> 00:37:42.319 think about what He is and what He thinks. Now, let me give you an illustration of that. Remember the 00:37:42.319 --> 00:37:50.400 demoniac? The guy who spent a lot of his time in the tombs naked? Rather miserable individual. 00:37:51.400 --> 00:37:57.779 When he walked into town, do you think people said, hey, hey, hey, here he comes, you know? And after he 00:37:57.780 --> 00:38:03.420 was converted, what did Jesus say? He wanted to leave town and follow Jesus, and Jesus said, no, no, no, 00:38:03.420 --> 00:38:09.760 I want you to go back into town so you can tell the people in town all the great things I've done for 00:38:09.760 --> 00:38:18.220 you. And he went back into town, and he bore witness to the power of the grace of God that turned 00:38:18.220 --> 00:38:24.440 a demoniac into a believer, into a worshiper, into an individual who was clothed in his right mind, 00:38:24.440 --> 00:38:31.820 and Christ received glory. And when Jesus came back into that area, all the people were waiting 00:38:31.820 --> 00:38:36.900 for him. Do you know why they're waiting for him? If you can mess with a demoniac and do something good 00:38:36.900 --> 00:38:49.639 out of that, then I have some hope. I think about the songwriters and how often they revel in the grace 00:38:49.639 --> 00:38:55.019 of God. And beloved, I would encourage you this morning as you sit here and you think about the 00:38:55.019 --> 00:39:02.679 reality of your own life, I encourage you to say this, I am a believer, if that is true, and I rejoice 00:39:02.679 --> 00:39:09.599 in the complete forgiveness I have in the Lord Jesus Christ and the glory of his grace, and I want my life 00:39:09.599 --> 00:39:16.799 to be an unending testament of thanksgiving and praise that he has saved me. There's nothing left to do 00:39:16.800 --> 00:39:23.600 but that until he takes us home. And we are to do that so other people are drawn to the cross. Isn't 00:39:23.600 --> 00:39:28.200 that right? And if you're here today and you do not know Christ, I would plead with you this morning, 00:39:28.580 --> 00:39:35.080 today is the day of salvation. Christ Jesus opens wide his heart to you and says, come unto me, 00:39:35.180 --> 00:39:40.780 all you who are heavy laden, burdened, and I will give you rest. And what does it say in the scripture? 00:39:40.780 --> 00:39:46.820 Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Let's close in prayer as John comes to lead 00:39:46.820 --> 00:39:47.880 us as we close in song.