I don't really know where to tell you to open your Bible. There's a lot of places we're going to go to tonight.
I guess just open it up to Titus 2.
That'll be our first passage that we come to.
So last week we began discussing sanctification, which is, as Clay already said, a topic that is literally eternally vast.
There's so much in it. We're never going to cover all the things that we need to cover.
And so at the very beginning, hear me say, I encourage you to study it more than you're going to get tonight.
I'm going to try to answer some questions.
I started last week by answering the first three of the total six questions that I wanted to pose.
And those first three were, I believe, if I find in myself, or if I find that I'm sinning more than I'm,
or if I find in myself more failure than I do success, am I still being sanctified was the first question.
Secondly, what about that one setting sin in my life?
Am I still being sanctified if that thing is true with me?
And then thirdly, I think I simply just asked, how can we be sanctified?
Tonight, we're going to deal with these three.
If no matter what I do, I can't lose my salvation, then why should I care to be sanctified?
Number two, where should I start?
And number three, what should I be expecting?
And obviously, these are really general.
The first one's more specific, but the last two are really general.
And so we're just going to scan it.
I mean, we're just going to be a survey of these things.
It's not going to be an exhaustive study at all.
But before we get going, I'm just going to pray, and then we'll really dive in.
Father, we don't ask you to teach us everything there is to know about sanctification.
We just simply ask you to teach us something more than we knew when we came in.
We just want to grow through this time.
Lord, if it's just the next 45 minutes or so, just let us truly benefit, truly, truly benefit in Christ from being here.
And Lord, just give your people your word.
If what they're just saying is truly the cry of their heart, if they really are hungry and they really are thirsty and they really want to be fed,
then I pray that, God, I would be given the grace in this moment to give them true food and give them true drink, which is Christ.
I pray that they would eat of you and drink of you and be filled with you.
They would know you better, Lord, than they ever knew you before.
They would understand what sanctification is.
They would understand how it's supposed to work.
They would understand what's facing them, what's to come in their life pursuit of sanctification.
So just aid me, God.
I need your grace.
I am inadequate apart from Christ completely to do this.
And so, God, just make yourself look glorious through our study.
In Christ's name, amen.
Before we really get into the questions, I just want to talk about, or I guess briefly redefine for you what sanctification is.
That's a big word.
The root of it is sanctify.
And it really just means to be set apart, okay, to be made holy, to be consecrated unto God.
It is the process of us becoming more like Christ.
That's a daily thing.
That's a moment-by-moment thing.
There isn't different stages and levels of sanctification.
There's just this process of you daily becoming more like Jesus Christ in every single facet of your life,
in your thinking, in your doing, in your acting, in your reacting,
in the things that you focus on, in your motivations, in your ambitions, in your affections.
Everything is becoming more like Christ, more for Christ.
And that's what it means to be sanctified.
It's a work of the Holy Spirit.
We learn that in 1 Thessalonians 5.
It says, by the Spirit of peace, may He sanctify you entirely.
Okay?
So we know from the beginning of it that it's a work that God does, but it's also a work that we're called to.
It says in Hebrews 12 that we should pursue sanctification.
Okay?
So I said this last week.
This is hard to get your mind around, but sanctification, this idea of becoming more like Christ,
is something that God will do to every Christian by His grace,
but it's also something that we pursue as Christians that are striving to glorify Christ.
It's the only way that you can glorify Christ, by the way, is to become more like Him and to live in light of that.
But Christ's glory is the purpose for it, and Christ's blessings are the rewards of it.
But if you want, if you feel, maybe you're sitting here tonight and you feel like, man, you know,
I like coming to Bible studies, I like going to church on Sundays, I like, you know, the people that I'm around,
these are great people, but I don't really feel like I'm really growing any closer to Christ.
I don't really have any kind of sense of His presence in my life.
I believe it is biblical to pray for a felt Christ.
I believe God can be not only known about, but known relationally.
You know, and so, if you're wondering why that may be for you,
then I would venture to say it's probably the fact that you're not striving to be holy.
That sanctification isn't as big of a part of your life as it should be.
So, just know that, I guess, at the beginning.
It's experienced, okay, so sanctification is experienced by us primarily through faith.
Through dependent faith.
Through childlike, simple faith.
In God's Word.
As we exercise faith in God's Word, as we read it and we take it for what it says at face value,
and we believe it, and we live it,
that is how we experience God's work of sanctification.
You will find the energy for things you did not have energy for.
You will find love for people you did not love before.
That's what God will prove to you as you endeavor to be sanctified.
It's that you have these new affections and these new feelings and these new intangibles that God gives to his people
for his glory, for our blessing.
But it's also...
Well, that's pretty much what it is.
I don't want to get too complicated.
It's important to understand this.
I said this as well last week, and this is why I had you turn to Titus 2.
That's a really, really important thing to understand.
Okay?
He saved you to make you holy.
Let's look at Titus 2.14.
It says, my first word here is who.
That's Jesus.
Jesus gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless deed
and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good deeds.
Just to further corroborate that,
1 Peter 2, verse 24 says,
And he himself, that's Jesus again, bore our sins in his body on the cross,
that we might die to sin and live to righteousness,
for by his wounds you were healed.
Okay?
So what do we have there?
We have Jesus Christ dying on the cross,
so that you could die to your sin,
and so that you could live to righteousness.
Which is another good definition of, I think, sanctification.
It's dying to sin, it's living to righteousness.
It's casting off the old man with our old desires and our fleshly desires
and vents and inclinations,
and it's putting on the new man.
It's putting on Christ.
Romans 13, I think, says it like that.
Now,
it's almost seen as like clothing yourself in Jesus Christ.
Those are all just, I guess, metaphorical ways of seeing it.
So Christ gave up his kingdom,
Christ gave up his crown,
Christ gave up his holiness,
or not his holiness,
but his righteous cloak,
you could say,
in heaven,
to come down and to be a peasant,
to be a man,
to take on flesh,
to take on all of the experiences of the human being.
And then he died, right,
in our place,
so that we could be holy.
So it's primary.
This isn't a secondary thing.
It's not like, you know,
Christ died simply to save you,
and sanctification is, you know,
kind of the thing that he hopes for.
Okay?
Christ died to make you holy.
Whatever the cost.
Loving Christ is not a small thing.
At times, it's very difficult.
And you were saved,
okay, let me just say this again,
one more time,
then we'll get to the new stuff.
You were saved in an instant,
by pure grace,
and it costs you nothing.
But you will be sanctified,
throughout your lifetime,
and it will cost you everything.
You were saved in a moment, right?
In a simple little moment.
And it didn't cost you anything.
It cost Christ everything.
But you are sanctified,
over your entire lifetime,
and that will cost you,
your life.
Alright?
We're going to dive deeper into that.
First question.
If no matter what I do,
I can't lose my salvation,
then why should I care to be sanctified?
I hear this a lot from people.
Maybe not explicitly,
but I think implicitly.
They think it is totally cool,
if they don't strive for holiness.
They don't see the reason for it.
I mean, I've been saved,
I've said the right prayer,
I've done the right thing,
I've been confirmed in the church,
these things are true of me,
so why do I need to be holy?
You know, if I go make a confession to my priest,
or if I go do this, or go do that,
then that means I'm good to go.
I can do whatever I want during the week,
and then I can be right on Sunday,
and then God's going to accept me on the last day.
There's all these,
there's this,
this disease, I would call it,
flows throughout Christendom.
It underlines a lot of people's faith.
It exposes it, I think.
So firstly, okay,
in order to answer our question,
sanctification is the proof of your salvation.
Again, I quoted it earlier,
Hebrews 12, 14 says,
pursue sanctification without which
you will not see the Lord.
That's a pretty strong statement.
Pursue sanctification without which
you will not see the Lord.
So pursue holiness.
Become like Christ,
or else,
you will not see the Lord.
You will not be found to be in Christ
on the last day,
if this is not true of you.
So when people neglect sanctification,
it's just simply evidence
that maybe they're not saved.
And that's really simple to understand,
I think.
If that's really why Christ died,
I mean,
if that's really the purpose of God
was to make you holy
in saving you,
then surely it's going to happen.
We can't thwart the will of God.
But I think it's more important
to understand why this is true.
Okay?
Why is it true
that God's people become holy?
One-to-one correlation.
Why is it true?
Why are all true believers sanctified?
Go to Romans 6.
Romans 6.
This is such an awesome passage.
Paul had just gotten finished here
in the context.
For five chapters now,
for the first few,
he really just kind of
puts an indictment on all mankind.
He says,
these things are true of you
if you're a Jew.
These things are also true of you
if you're a jinn fowl.
That means if you're not a Jew.
So these things are true of everybody.
He just kind of,
he exposes everybody
in their sin.
He doesn't leave anybody out
no matter where you are,
no matter who you are.
Everybody's a sinner.
Then he starts talking about
how salvation
is by faith alone.
Alright?
And he goes through chapter 4
and chapter 5
and he's exposing
how salvation is by grace alone,
through faith alone,
in Christ alone.
It's a gift.
He talks about Abraham
as an example,
all these different things.
And then he gets to Romans 6
and he kind of begins
to anticipate
the
rebuttal.
you could say,
of the religious leaders
that he's writing to.
He knows what they're going to ask.
He knows their questions
and so he begins
in verse 1
of chapter 6
and he says,
What should we say then?
Or in other words,
you might say this.
Are we to continue in sin
that grace might increase?
May it never be.
How shall we who died to sin
still live in it?
Are we to continue in sin
that grace might increase?
May it never be.
How shall we who died to sin
still live in it?
So he's anticipating them saying,
Paul,
if you're being serious right now,
if you're saying
that it's completely by grace
that we're saved,
then why not just keep sinning
all the more
so that God gets more glory
if that's really true.
I mean,
if it's all grace
and there's no works at all,
then
let's just keep sinning
so that grace may abound,
Paul.
And his response is,
in the strongest Greek negative
that there is,
may it never be.
Or no way.
Or
almost like a
you are out of your mind
to think that kind of thing.
How shall we who have died to sin,
he says,
still live in it?
Your old man died
when Christ died.
What is the old man?
That's your
humanness
that has fallen.
That is your
enslavement to sin.
That is your
identification, you could say,
as a child of the devil.
That is your inability
to honor God.
That is your inability
to love Christ.
All those things died
with Christ
when He died.
And when you were raised
with Christ,
when you were
made a new man,
made a new woman,
by His grace,
you were risen with freedom
from the power
and dominion of sin,
and you were then
given freedom
to the power,
the spirit,
the mind,
and the grace
of Christ
daily.
Okay, so hear that.
Those things are
literally available to you
if you were a believer.
The power
that rose Christ
or that raised Christ
from the dead
is within you.
The spirit of God
is within you.
The spirit of God,
the spirit of an omnipotent being
is within you.
The mind of Christ,
1 Corinthians 2.16,
I think,
says,
is yours.
What does that mean?
That's the ability
to comprehend
this
by faith
and actually have it
work in your life
and not be words
on a page.
And then
the grace of Christ
is available
to you daily.
which is the foundation
upon our whole
Christian life.
If I'm not,
I literally had one
of the worst weeks
ever this week.
I literally,
it was such a terrible week.
Okay, like in so many ways,
so many different ways.
And yet,
the only thing
that really kept me going
and the only thing
that didn't keep me
from just really being,
you know,
led into more sin
was the fact that
I was standing
on the grace
of God.
And then again,
I reminded myself
it's not about
what I've done,
it's not about
what I've earned,
it's not about
what I merit
from God,
I'm standing
on the grace
of Christ.
Which is that
sure,
it's that sure
foundation.
So,
all these things
are ours.
All those things
are ours.
And so,
Paul doesn't mean,
I mean,
what he's saying here
in the verse
is that holiness
isn't an option.
It's not an option
anymore.
And I'm not,
I'm not meaning that
like you better do this
kind of,
it's not an option.
I'm meaning it like
it's impossible
not to be
holy.
Why?
Because you died
to your old man.
And you were risen
in Christ.
Now,
I want to exhaust that,
but I can't.
There's so much in that.
I mean,
I know you guys
are probably thinking,
what is the old man again?
Go study it.
Get commentary on it,
but just understand
that old man
is who you once were
and the new man
is who you are now
in Christ.
There's so much more
to say.
So,
then jump to 15.
Okay?
We just skipped
an entire semester
worth of information.
But,
verse 15 here,
same chapter,
says this.
He anticipates
another question
and he says,
what then?
Shall we sin
because we are not
under law
but under grace?
May it never be again,
he says.
Do you not know
that when you present
yourselves to someone
as a slave,
as slaves for obedience,
you are slaves
of the one
whom you obey?
Either of sin
resulting in death
or of obedience
resulting in righteousness.
But thanks be to God
that though you were
slaves of sin,
that's that old man,
you became obedient
from the heart
to that form of teaching
to which you were committed.
And having been freed
from sin,
you became slaves
of righteousness.
righteousness.
What's he saying?
He starts off
with the question,
shall we sin
because we are not
under law
but under grace?
Again,
he's pointing out
something that they
were believing
that was false.
if in fact
I am not held
accountable
by the law
anymore,
then
it's not a
well,
then why not sin?
It's more of a
well,
then can I sin?
You know?
I think the first question
is kind of the
well,
why not sin?
Kind of this like arrogant
you know,
like what do you mean Paul?
Like you know,
just,
but then in 15
he's kind of already
addressed that
so in 15
they say
well then
why can't you sin?
It's more of a genuine
like you know,
why not?
Shall we sin?
Shall we sin
because we're not
under law
but under grace?
And he says
may it never be.
And he goes back
to his original argument
and he says
basically
you can't serve
two masters.
Okay,
that's what 16
through 18
is basically communicating
is you can't serve
two masters.
You can't love sin
and Christ.
those things
are no longer
able to coexist
in a loving way.
You may still sin.
I'm not saying
you can't sin.
I'm just saying
you can't love sin
like you once loved it.
You won't be enslaved
to sin
like you were once
enslaved to it
because your affections
have changed.
And how do we know that?
Because it says here
you became obedient
to God's commandments
from your heart.
So part of becoming
a Christian
is
imagine your heart
as a heart of stone,
right?
A heart of stone.
It's a stony heart.
It has no sensitivity
to anything.
I can kick a stone
as hard as I want to
it's not going to feel it.
Right?
There's no sensitivity
in it.
When I become a Christian
God says He gives me
in Ezekiel 36
a heart of flesh.
It has life.
It has sensitivity
to the things of God.
And so
I became obedient
to the commandments
of God
in my heart.
I'm sensitive
to Christ, right?
I now love this person.
I love this Christ.
And so
there's certain things
that because I love Him
I don't want to do that to Him.
I care about Him.
My heart is for Him.
My affection is His.
And so I don't want to do
those things
that I once did.
So you find
when you sin
how do you feel?
It's like
I'm not again.
I just keep doing
the same thing.
And He addresses this
in Romans 7
but He's like
I do the very thing
that I hate.
Right?
I do the very thing
that I hate.
So we find that
if you are truly a believer
and you're loving Christ
from your heart
and you're obeying
God's commandments
from your heart
then you will inevitably
hate sin.
Which is why Paul
can justifiably say
so clearly
so simply
how can you sin
if you've died to it
and if you're now
living in Christ?
How can you sin
if you now hate
sinning
and love
godliness?
It's just a really
simple argument
but it's
I mean it's
you know
it's shrouded
in this complex
you know
supernatural
spiritual stuff
that we can't really
get our minds
fully around
but I'm
that's what he's
essentially saying
you can't serve
two masters
and who your master
is
listen to this guys
who your master
is
will be evident
by the fruit
of your life
right?
The vine doesn't
lie
an apple tree
bears apples
an orange tree
bears oranges
a sinner
bears the fruits
of sin
Galatians 5
tells you what
those are
whereas
a man being
sanctified
a godly man
bears the fruits
of that godliness
there's no hiding it
that's why Jesus
says about the
Pharisees
and the Sadducees
when he's dealing
with them himself
he just says
you'll know them
by their fruits
what they love
will be known
all your sin
will find you out
you can't hide
from God
and you can't
hide who you are
the Christian
having been
freed from sin
and enslaved
now to righteousness
as we see in our
verse
obeys God
whereas the
unrighteous man
being enslaved
to sin
is ruled by
his lusts
which reign over
him as his
master
verse John 3
turn there
this is one of
the clearest
clearest
texts
in the whole
bible
on this topic
and I think it
just speaks so
pointedly to it
1st John 3
verse 7
you guys there
it says this
little children
so he's speaking
to Christians
let no one
deceive you
the one who
practices
righteousness
is righteous
the one who
practices sin
is of the
devil
for the devil
has sinned
from the
beginning
now listen to
this
here we go
again with
what I said
earlier
the son of
God
appeared
for this
purpose
that he
might destroy
the works
of the
devil
so why
did Christ
appear
destroy the
works of
the devil
now I
think that
obviously
means
in a
salvation
way
he came
to
destroy
the
dominion
that
Satan
once had
over
human
beings
he came
to destroy
the threat
of death
but I
think it
means that
he also
came to
destroy
sin
within the
believer
now
he came
to make
holiness
possible
truly
possible
why does
God save
you
to make
you
holy
right
how
by destroying
the works
of the
devil
let's keep
reading
no one
who was
born of
God
practices
sin
because his
seed abides
in him
and he
cannot
sin
because he
is born
of God
okay
now
obviously
that doesn't
mean
we can't
ever sin
but that
means that
we can't
live in
it
I've
said this
illustration
a couple
of times
and I
think I
said it
a couple
of weeks
ago
but I'm
just going
to say
it again
imagine
yourself
before your
salvation
okay
before Christ
as a
fish
now as
a fish
you
swim in
the water
right
your natural
habitat
is the
water
you breathe
it in
you have
gills
for that
that's
your
ecosystem
that's
where you
live
that's
where you
breathe
whatever
okay
then you
become a
Christian
let's say
then you
become a
Christian
and God
changes you
from a
fish
to a
man
now I
don't have
gills
I have
lungs
and now I
breathe air
and now my
natural habitat
is on the
land
and I
walk around
and I
don't
have
I
don't
swim
anymore
now
as a
human
being
right
as a
human
being
as a
Christian
I
can
go back
in the
water
temporarily
I
can
swim
there
I
can
go
underwater
I
can
hold
my
breath
for a
little
while
but I
can
no
longer
live
in it
I
can't
live
in it
I
don't
have
the
lungs
for it
I
don't
have
the
gills
for it
I
should
say
okay
as a
Christian
you
can
sin
again
it's
not
saying
that
a
Christian
doesn't
sin
it's
saying
that
you
can't
!
live
in
it
you
can't
practice
it
there's
a
huge
difference
now
I
know
that
there's
other
questions
coming
up
I
think
I
dealt
with
some
of
those
questions
last
week
with
regards
to
what
about
that
one
of
the
setting
sin
in
my
life
if
you
guys
want
to
know
the
answer
to
that
I
don't
know
I
guess
listen
to
the
podcast
or
just
ask
me
and
I'll
send
you
the
notes
or
something
but
that's
what that
verse
is
saying
let's
keep
reading
one more
verse
he says
this
by this
the children
of God
and the
children
of the
devil
are
obvious
anyone
who does
not
practice
righteousness
is not
of God
nor the
one who
does
not
love
his
brother
so
John
is just
black
and white
he's
like
he's
like
if it
doesn't
look like
a
Christian
and
talk
like
a
Christian
and
out
like
a
Christian
and
think
like
a
Christian
it's
not
a
Christian
it's
not
you know
I mean
there's
this
one
guy
that said
he
described
this
verse
like
this
he's
like
I
live
in
Chicago
and
I
live
in
Illinois
whatever
like
I
have
this
farm
and
you know
during
the
certain
seasons
these
hunters
will
come
onto
my
land
and
they'll
go
deer
hunting
but
unfortunately
every
single
time
that
this
happens
every
single
season
that
and
I
just
want
to
be
there
and
go
to
them
and
be
like
it's
not
a
deer
it
moves
it's
black
and
white
you know
I
don't
know
what
they
were
seeing
it
doesn't
look
it
doesn't
have
the
characteristics
of a
deer
right
it's
a
cow
and
he
says
the
same
thing
why
do
we
super
spiritualize
everything
when it
comes
to
being
a
Christian
not
being
a
Christian
if
it
doesn't
look
like
a
Christian
act
like
a
Christian
talk
like
a
Christian
love
God
like
a
Christian
love
God's
people
like
a
Christian
it's
not
a
Christian
that's
what
he's
saying
Donald
Barnhouse
once
said
this
he said
holiness
starts
where
justification
finishes
and
if
holiness
does
not
start
we
have
the
right
to
suspect
the
justification
never
started
second
question
where
should
I
begin
where
should
I
begin
a
lot
of
you
probably
wondering
this
I
still
kind
of
wondering
this
where
should
I
begin
sinification
seems
lofty
to me
it
seems
overwhelming
in a
lot
of
ways
where
should
I
go
how
should
I
start
well
this
is
encouraging
Go to
Colossians
2
really
simple
answer
Colossians
2
verse
6
he
says
as
you
therefore
have
received
Christ
Jesus
the
Lord
so
walk
in
the
very
same
way
that
you
received
Christ
that's
how you
continue
it's a
really simple
answer
so then the
question becomes
what
how did I
receive
Christ
what was
true of
me
what things
characterize
!
me
you
received
Christ
firstly
by grace
alone
go to
Ephesians
2
8
Bible
drill
Ephesians
2
8
you guys
probably know
this one by
heart
for
by grace
you have
been
saved
through
faith
and that
not of
yourselves
it is
the gift
of God
by grace
you have
been
saved
it says
grace
the
definition
of it
is the
merciful
kindness
by which
God
exerting
his holy
influence
upon souls
turns
them to
Christ
keeps
strengthens
increases
them
in
Christian
faith
knowledge
affection
and
kindles
them
to
exercise
to
the
exercise
of
their
Christian
virtues
it's
really
wordy
what he's
basically
saying
is
this
God
saved
you
by
no
merit
of your
own
that's
what that
means
he
did
this
work
he
saved
you
by
grace
turned
you
to
Christ
and
then
he
keeps
you
he
strengthens
you
for
his
glory
you
were
depending
fully
on
God's
grace
for
salvation
when
you
began
he
would
like
for
us
to
fully
depend
on
him
for
sanctification
too
so
I
hope
you
understand
that
literally
so
much
of
sanctification
comes
down
to
just
understanding
that
it's
all
by
grace
in
the
moment
you
begin
to put
your
trust
and your
confidence
in
yourself
and what
you
can
do
and how
much
you
can
resist
how much
temptation
you have
the ability
to conquer
yourself
you're going to find yourself
falling into it more and more
I kind of like this illustration
!
One writer said
as a bird depends on its wings to fly
so we must depend on God to be holy
Secondly
You received Christ
you were saved
through faith alone!
Ephesians 2
8
again
For by grace
you have been saved
through faith
A couple of weeks ago
we talked about faith
True faith
True
genuine
God-honoring faith
gives things
substance
and gives things
feet
we said
It gives things
a certain tangibility
a certain
believability
that it didn't have
before
It gives
in a sense
I think I pictured
I painted it like this
It's like, I can hope in something, like an ice cream cone, waiting on the sidewalk.
You know, but it's not really mine until I taste it.
A lot of people have this general hope in God, but when you really have God, it's like a taste.
It gives things substance. It gives things depth.
There is such a thing as a felt Christ.
There is such a thing as that.
It isn't merely an agreement to some doctrine.
It's a calm confidence in Christ that alone, okay, that alone can enable a man to resolve to follow Him.
It is the most natural thing for the believer, and it is the most unnatural thing to the non-Christian, to live by faith.
You began by simple faith in Christ as the only way to be saved, and so you must continue by simple faith in Christ as the only way to be sanctified.
Just trust in the Lord.
Thirdly, you were saved in Christ alone.
In Christ alone.
Ephesians 2.8, again.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourself.
It is the gift of God, or Christ.
It is the gift of God.
Your faith was a gift from Christ.
He gave Himself up for you on the cross, and then to you in salvation.
He gave Himself to you in salvation.
I have been crucified with Christ.
It is no longer I who live.
It is Christ who lives in me.
In the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me, gave Himself up for me.
Christ is in you, He says.
He is like oxygen, in a sense, you could say, that we breathe as we run this race of sanctification.
He is like the oxygen.
It is a necessary thing.
Try to run without oxygen.
It is not going to work very well.
You need it.
You have to be breathing it.
You are not going to be able to run without Christ.
You are not going to be able to be sanctified without Christ.
If you begin to run without Him, you will find yourself exhausted, and tired, and weak, and unable.
He is like oxygen.
If you find yourself fatigued, then take a break, right?
And dive into the Word of God.
And dive into prayer.
And get Christ.
Take a breath of Christ.
Let it renew you and refresh you.
It says this.
Fix your eye on Jesus, who is the author and the finisher of your faith.
That's in Hebrews 12.
Fix your eye on Jesus, who is the author and the finisher of your faith.
I love that, because what does it say?
What does it allude to?
Author, right?
He wrote it.
He began it.
He initiated it.
He created it.
But He is also the finisher of your faith.
From beginning to end.
He is the alpha and the omega of your faith.
And lastly, by Scripture alone.
You were saved by Scripture alone.
If Christ is the oxygen that Christians breathe in, then I would say that Scripture is like the food that they eat.
Deuteronomy 8.3 says this.
Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.
As your physical body needs nourishment, so your spiritual body needs the nourishment of 1 John and Ecclesiastes.
Right?
Revelation.
And the book of John and Daniel.
You need that nourishment.
There's a lot of different vitamins that go into your diet.
Well, you need vitamin Ecclesiastes.
God used the truth of the gospel to save you, and He will use it to sanctify you.
Joshua 1.8 says,
Don't let the book of the law depart from your mouth or your mind or your heart.
David Brainerd said this.
He was a missionary.
When I return home and I give myself to meditation and prayer and fasting, my soul longs for mortification, self-denial, humility, and divorcement from all things of the world.
I have nothing to do with earth, but only labor in it honestly for God.
I do not desire to live one minute for anything which earth can afford.
That's the result of being immersed in the Word of God and finding in it more satisfying things than what the world has to offer.
Third question.
What should I be expecting?
This is important to understand.
First and foremost, you should be expecting satanic opposition.
Satanic opposition.
Go to Ephesians.
You already are in Ephesians.
Turn a page over.
Chapter 6, verse 10.
10-13.
Here we go.
Ephesians 6, 10-13.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Put on the full armor of God that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
Listen to this.
Our struggle is not against flesh and blood or humanity.
But our struggle is against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness,
against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore, take up the full armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day and having done everything to stand firm.
Satan is a very formidable opponent to all of us.
He is so much bigger than you think that he is.
And I'm going to give you a little taste of that right now.
Have you heard people ask this question?
If God created everything in the universe, if He created the entire universe in all of its billions of galaxies,
why did He only choose to populate one little dot called Earth?
The actual answer is He didn't.
He just populated Earth.
He populated the entire expanse of the heavens with angels and demons.
They're invisible.
You don't see them.
But they are waging war right now in ways that would make World War II look like child's play.
It is unbelievable what we can't see.
It is unbelievable.
You say, where are you getting this job?
It's in our verse number one.
In the heavenly places, He says, these wicked forces dwell.
It's also in Daniel chapter 10, verse 13.
Daniel prays.
Daniel prays for God to answer the certain request.
God does answer the request.
God sends an angel from heaven as a messenger to Daniel to give him assurance that this thing has been answered.
For 21 days, this verse says, the angel was prevented by a demon, by a spirit from Persia, it says.
There are things happening that you don't even have a clue about.
There are demons working in ways that you have no clue about.
And for us to think, and it's important for us to grasp these kind of things,
because when you think that you have the ability to just resist a devil or a demon,
like you have the ability to resist your sister when she wants to slap you,
or like a friend that's trying to fight you,
you are grossly underestimating Satan.
We need to give him a little bit of respect.
He is very good at what he does.
So you might ask me, how does Satan work?
Satan works primarily through the world system.
Okay?
Through the world system.
He works through things like media.
He works through things like religion.
He works through things like music.
He works through things like television.
He works through things that aren't necessarily this conspicuous and overt and obvious demonic force.
He works through things that are subtle.
He doesn't want you thinking about him.
He wants you thinking about, I don't know, food, sex, drink.
He wants you thinking about something else.
But all those things and all those people that advocate those things are of him.
And they're being manipulated by him to destroy us.
So first and foremost, remember, we can't put our trust in ourselves.
Satan is the ruler of the cosmos.
Okay?
That's the opposite of chaos in the Greek.
Or maybe it's in Latin.
Okay?
He is the ruler, it says, of the cosmos.
It means order.
He's not all over the place.
He's calculated and he's smart.
And he's been at this for 6,000 to 10,000 years.
And he knows what the heck he's doing.
And he's supernatural.
He's brilliant beyond our comprehension.
And he works through all these deceptions and lies and deceits and distractions.
And he will do everything that he can within his power to kill you.
Satan hates Christ.
Okay?
He doesn't really care about you.
He hates Christ.
So as a Christian, you are a child of God, right?
You have Christ, as we just said earlier, in you.
And so Paul says it like this in Colossians chapter 1.
He says,
And I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake.
And in my flesh, I do my share on behalf of his body.
That's Christ's body.
That's the church.
I do my share on behalf of the church, which is the church.
In filling up what is lacking, it says, in Christ's afflictions.
When we're afflicted, when we're tormented, when we're aggressively sought after for our destruction by Satan,
it is not really about you as much as it is about Christ.
He's trying to hurt Christ.
He's trying to stop Christ.
He's trying to kill Christ.
He's trying to dishonor and bring reproach to the name of Christ.
And so we suffer.
And that's why you suffer.
He's focused on this.
And how can God be most dishonored?
If you were a father,
if you were a father and you had a child,
would it bring more dishonor to you?
Would it enrage you more?
Would it frustrate you more?
Would you see it as a stronger hate crime against you
if someone were to harm you or your son?
Your son, right?
Your child.
I would much rather you hurt me than my child.
So Satan sees it as opportunistic to hurt God's people,
to hurt Christ's people,
to hurt his children.
And so he does whatever he can to stop you,
to distract you,
to kill you.
There's three ways,
I think,
three ways that he primarily does this.
And I,
this is not,
believe me,
we could do,
again,
an entire series in a semester,
maybe even a year,
on Satanology
and on spiritual warfare.
There are so many things to say here.
There's so much material on this topic.
There's so many different things
that really need to be grasped by us all
to understand how the enemy is working.
But let me just give you three things,
three D words
that help us understand how Satan's working.
First is,
first is he distracts.
He distracts.
Your mind,
your thoughts,
dictate your actions.
So he distracts you.
The majority of Satan's focus
is to keep your focus off Christ.
I remember C.S. Lewis once said this in his book,
Screwtape Letters,
which is a great book to read
if you're interested in this kind of thing.
He says,
it's funny how mortals think
that our best work is done
in putting things in their minds
when really our best work is done
in keeping things out.
And the premise of Screwtape Letters
is one higher ranking demon
riding to a lower ranking demon.
So that's from a demon's perspective.
It's funny how mortals think
that our best work is done
in putting things in their minds
when really it's done
in keeping things out.
Satan works through distractions.
So what do you find yourself
being distracted by?
What do you find yourself
thinking about
more than the Lord?
What do you find yourself
waking up in the morning
and contemplating
or going to bed at night
and sleeping on?
That I can tell you
if it's not Christ
or if it's not something
concerning Christ
or if it's not a godly motivation
or a godly desire
I can assure you
that it is a satanic thing.
Truth frees people.
Okay?
Truth frees you.
It's John 8 that says that.
Truth frees.
Truth waters the seeds of faith
that God planted in your heart.
It exposes Satan.
Truth exposes Satan.
Listen to the words of the psalmist.
This is in Psalm 119.
He says this,
Oh, how I love your law.
It is my meditation all the day.
Thy commandments make me wiser
than my enemies.
For they are ever with me.
So, again,
I go back to the Word of God
and I say this is how we know
what is good,
what is profitable,
what is honoring to Christ
and what is not.
This, believe it or not,
can make you wiser than your enemies.
Secondly, Satan deceives.
He deceives.
He distracts and he deceives.
I'll read you a verse really quickly
from John 8.
Jesus is rebuking these Pharisees
and He says,
You are of your father the devil
and you want to do the desires
of your father.
He was a murderer from the beginning
and he does not stand in the truth
because there is no truth in him.
Whenever he speaks a lie,
he speaks from his own nature
for he is a liar
and he is the father of lies.
So Satan lies.
That's the second thing that he does.
Believing his lies,
which he, again,
propagates through the world system,
will end in destruction.
Hosea 4.6 says,
My people are destroyed
for lack of knowledge.
So, again,
to combat this
method of warfare by Satan,
I would say,
again,
know the word of God.
My people are destroyed
for lack of knowledge.
Thirdly,
he dilutes
or dilutes.
Robbing glory from Christ
is the name of his game
in a sense.
If he can be successful in that,
if he can be successful
in ejecting the church
with heresies
and with a tolerance
for error,
then he's won.
If you find that
to be true of you,
if you have the ability
to be tolerant
when somebody is in error
about
the doctrine of Christ,
then you have been
affected by this,
by this dilution,
by this satanic method
of warfare.
I was reading recently,
Spurgeon was talking about
these Christians from Holland
who a long time ago
willingly died
at the stake
to preserve baptism.
They died
willingly.
It wasn't even a question
to these people
to preserve
the God-glorifying act
and obeying act
of baptism.
By immersion.
Nowadays,
Spurgeon says,
I wonder if Christians
are even willing
to lose a finger
for such doctrines.
You just,
you know,
that's cool for you,
it's cool.
I mean,
like,
what is the truth,
right?
We have to be
intolerant
to error.
We have to also be,
we have to also realize,
I think,
at the same time
that we're not
error-free ourselves.
We have to be
honest about that,
but there needs to be
a strong,
I think,
push in this way.
We must know
God's truth,
we must hold it fast
if we wish to see
Satan
excommunicated
from the church.
another thing to expect
is tribulation.
2 Timothy 3.12
says,
if you desire to live
godly in Christ Jesus,
you're going to be
persecuted.
it's going to be inevitable.
Why?
Because we naturally
persecute things
that we hate.
All of us do.
We naturally persecute
things that we hate.
Sinners,
okay,
they hate Christ.
Therefore,
the more that we look
like Christ
and act like Christ,
the more that we're
going to experience
persecution
from them.
Persecutions in the Greek,
this word,
this phrase,
in a sense,
means to pursue
in a hostile manner
in any way
whatever means possible
to harass,
to trouble,
to molest somebody,
to be mistreated,
to suffer persecution
on account of
something or someone.
Some of you think
that you must go
and do something radical
to be persecuted.
That isn't so.
If you are Christ-like,
the persecution
will come to you.
I promise.
Lastly,
let me just say this.
Let me just say this as well.
Why would God allow
persecution in your life?
Why is it something
that He would
want for us
to rejoice in?
It's because
there's not a clearer way
in the world
to display the gospel.
So when persecutions
do come your way,
it is a privilege
because it is a way
to imitate Christ
like no other.
through faithfulness
and suffering.
There have been
a lot of haters of God
that have been saved
through seeing
God's people suffer
well.
And lastly,
the last thing I'm going to say,
you should be expecting
triumph
over sin.
Romans 8.
This will be the last text
that I read.
Romans 8.
Verse 35-37.
Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation
or distress
or peril
or persecution
or famine
or nakedness
or sword?
It's rhetorical.
Just as it is written,
for your name's sake
we are being put to death
all day long.
We are considered
as sheep to be slaughtered.
But in all these things
we overwhelmingly conquer
through Christ
who loved us.
There won't be anything
that you experience
in this life
that God does not
or has not given you
the Holy Spirit
to conquer.
Nothing is beyond
your means.
Another verse in Acts
says that
through many tribulations
we're going to enter
the kingdom of heaven.
But you will enter
the kingdom of heaven.
You will be triumphant
on the last day.
Though you may falter,
you will never fall
from His grace.
Though your heart
and your flesh may fail,
Christ will be your portion.
He will satisfy you
in the end.
The Christian life,
the Christian will live
his life on the battlefield
and He will see
both victories
and defeats.
But the outcome
of the war
is already determined.
Christ has won
and we will be triumphant.
Let's pray.
Father, we thank You
for the Gospel
and the fact
that the Gospel
is not only the story
of Christ's coming,
but it's also
the story of Christ's saving
and the story
of Christ's sanctifying
and the story of Christ
one day glorifying.
And we have many things
to be, I think,
encouraged by
in light of what's been said
tonight.
I think we have
many wonderful truths
to reflect on,
many wonderful scriptures
to meditate on.
God, we do admit
that we're destroyed often.
We're spoiled often
for a lack of knowledge.
We don't know You
like we should.
We often neglect You,
Father God,
and we get wearied
so easily
by our devotions
and we get wearied
so easily
by the Christian faith
and the Christian walk
in life.
And I myself,
Father God,
have been found
to be just
unfaithful
in many ways
this week
towards my coworkers
and just
many different areas
of my life.
And I just pray,
God,
that You would
humble us all
in light of whatever
things are coming
to our minds,
in light of whatever
sin is on our hearts.
And You would just,
Father God,
remind us that grace
is alone
that we can trust in
and grace is alone
what You've given to us.
God,
we love Christ.
We just want to love
Him more than we do
even now.
So,
just give us more of You.
We pray in Christ's name.
Amen.