← ArchiveReformation: 5 statements that form/faithSunday, October 1, 2017DateOctober 1, 2017Speaker—Text—Passages in this sermonRomans 15:362 Peter 315:51John 321:37Isaiah 6128:10TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Transcription by ESO. Translation by — Transcription by ESO. Translation by —0:30Transcription by ESO. Translation by —1:00Transcription by — Transcription by — Transcription by — Transcription by — Transcription by — Transcription by — Transcription by — Transcription by — Transcription by — Transcription by — Transcription by — Transcription by — God's people celebrate the one day a year when sacrifice atones for the sins of the community.1:22And we, through baptism, have already demonstrated that one man in his death, burial, and resurrection has given us and offered us forgiveness for the community, those who believe. Something else is not near as interesting, but is interesting to me and now to you. This month represents the 500th year of something, the Reformation.1:47Somebody said, oh, here we go, history lesson. Yes, wake up. This is a time where 500 years ago, a monk went to a castle and put a post-it note of 95 thoughts. And that has revolutionized how the church thinks about grace and doctrine. His name was Martin Luther. And actually, it was on October 31st.2:17And you might not call that a post-it note. You might call that 95 thesis. You might not know that this is actually his second declaration. Before that, he wrote 97 to present at the university where he taught to little fanfare. And so he presented a second set. This is why Luther was struggling. And this is why we want to look at the five solos, the basics of our faith this next month. Because Luther struggled with not ever feeling good enough.2:46He never felt like he could do enough to be saved. He felt like the church just taught him, well, do this, say this prayer, do these things, and God will accept you. And he had a longing in his heart that he would never measure up. Can anyone relate? So much so that in his life, he was already a monk. He self-confessed this. He said, I hate God. Because I will never measure up to God's goodness.3:16Particularly, he was outraged at this fact of the church. A man named John Tetzel was in charge of stealing indulgences in Germany at this time. Indulgences were sold by the Orthodox Church in this time. And it was not a ticket. It was not a fast pass using Disney language into heaven. But it shortened your time in purgatory. Not necessarily yours, but a loved one. So you could pay money and get your loved one out of purgatory faster.3:45So for those that you loved a lot, you would donate. For those that you didn't love as much, you just let them, let God refine them in purgatory. But John Tetzel was known of pinning these sayings. Listen to this. This infuriated Martin Luther. This is a church 500 years ago. He said that cleaner than when coming out of a baptism. And cleaner than Adam before the fall if you pay an indulgence. Only Jesus Christ can do that.4:15He said this. The cross of the cellar of indulgences has as much power as the cross of Jesus Christ. And this infuriated Martin Luther. He said that cannot be. He also said this, John Tetzel. As soon as a coin in the coffer springs, the soul from purgatory springs. As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs. You see, the church had lost its first love.4:44And set up mechanisms by which men could feel important and feel righteous. And it did nothing. It had no spiritual value. And Martin Luther was wrestling with this. To put it in modern language, he said, look, I'm going to church and it's not good enough. I'm giving tithes and it's not good enough. Look, I built a wing on the building and it's not good enough. I was baptized and it's not good enough.5:12And from this reformation sprung five basic tenets of faith. You might hear them as the five solos and they are this. Faith alone. Faith alone. Martin Luther had enough. He said, I can't stand all this working. It's only faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 1, 16 and 17. He said, we need to get back to the basics of God's word alone.5:39Right? Discernment. Your opinion doesn't matter near as much as God's word. And it goes from me. God's word endures forever. Grace alone. It is by grace you have been saved. Through faith. Not of works. Not lest you've done anything. The glory of God alone. And then Christ alone. So we're going to unpack this. The next five weeks. Up until Halloween. We're going to unpack the basics of our faith.6:09And you say, well, why does this even matter? Why is this important for me? This is why. Because if you are here relying on your own effort. On your own works. It will only lead you to a place of emptiness. Of being tired and chained. If you are relying. And look, I'm speaking as a pastor. But I'm also speaking as a church boy. I grew up in church. And it only left me. Because I didn't understand faith yet. And it wasn't the church.6:39I went to a Bible teaching believing church. But I in my mind felt like. If I just did enough. I would be good. And if that's where you are today. You will only end up with an empty life. Because only Christ can satisfy. It is by faith alone. And so I ask you. Are you ready to trust fully in Christ. And live freely. By faith. You see. When Martin Luther was wrestling. This verse right here.7:07Stopped him in his tracks. Look at verse 16 of Romans. Verse 17 was the one that he spent months meditating on. But verse 16. I am not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God to salvation. To everyone who believes. First to the Jews. Then to the Greeks. And then verse 17. For in it. The righteousness of God is revealed. And Luther himself confessed in his journals and diaries.7:37That he spent months on this phrase. For in it. The righteousness of God is revealed. Because he felt like. That God's righteousness was only intended to destroy him. And we get the glorious opportunity to unpack that truth today. From faith to faith. Just as it is written. The righteous will live by faith. Let's pray. Father. We.8:07We. Cannot do it on our own. And Lord I know that we live in a place. In a time. That we feel like we're good. And not sinful. But your word says different. So Lord show us the darkness of our hearts. Lord bring us into conviction. Under conviction. That we might run. To the cross of Jesus Christ. By faith alone. Recognizing that we have no power in ourselves.8:36But the power is through the cross. The power is through Christ Jesus. So Lord free us. Let us see the power of the gospel. Produce in us an eternal salvation. And Lord free us up from our chains. That we would live in righteousness. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. And amen. I want to share with you three thoughts this morning. Three thoughts of faith alone.9:06By faith alone. The first is found in verse 16. Paul says. I am not ashamed. Now let's think about who's writing this. For context. His name is Paul. But he had a previous name. His previous name was Saul. This is this man Saul. He was a great murderer. Jason was saved on the road. To Mobile. On I-65.9:37On I-65. Paul was on the road. Saul was on the road. To Damascus. To persecute God's people. To kill them. If he had to. He would throw them in jail. If he had his choice. He would just kill them. That's easier. It doesn't take up state resources as much. And this was his mission. To persecute the church of God. And he radically was blinded by a light. And men especially. Sometimes we have to be blind. Before we realize we're blinded.10:06And he cried out. He said. Who is it Lord? And the voice said. I am the one you persecute. And Paul was wrecked on that road. If anyone could be righteous by his standard. It was this man. The greatest Bible school. And he ascended. He was valedictorian of his class. He was head of the church. And he was persecuted on behalf of the God. That he claimed to worship. And Christ wrecked him.10:35And Paul is here saying. I am not ashamed. And you see. He lived in a day where the Roman persecution was intense. He lived in a day where the authority of Rome was heavy handed. And was coming down on him. Paul was actually going to die in prison. Awaiting to see Caesar for his faith. And Paul was looking at a world saying. I am not ashamed. And he said. I am not ashamed of what? The gospel. Who is he following?11:04He's following Jesus Christ. We take this for advantage sometimes. But who is Jesus? Let's unpack the historical Jesus real quick. So Paul is saying. I am worshiping this man. Who is God coming to earth. But Rome. He's writing to the Romans. His church is in Rome. But I don't want you to think of him as an emperor. This is God coming to earth. But he was born in a Bethlehem. No one had really heard of Bethlehem. It was known for their sheep.11:33Not emperors. And not only was he born in Bethlehem. The house of bread. Isn't that significant by the way? Jesus is the bread of life. Being born in the house of bread. A place that was known to actually raise sheep. For the Yom Kippur. The lamb of God being born in Bethlehem. And Paul is saying. I am worshiping this man. But he's not powerful as you think he's powerful. He was born in a place with a small town. No significance. And when he went to the town to be born. The town told him what?12:03Sorry. We're not. No vacancies. But we have a room. It doesn't. The maids weren't able to clean it up. It's actually a stall for animals. But this is where the son of God is going to be born. And not only after he was born. But there was a bounty put on his head. That he had to flee to Egypt with his family. Because Herod wanted to kill this king of the Jews. The one who calls himself king. And after he came back.12:32They went to a no-name town. In the north of Israel called Galilee. Anyone know anyone that was raised in Galilee? Okay. No. Even the disciples said. What good comes from Nazareth? What good comes from that region? And this is Paul saying. I am submitting my life to the son of man. He is God. He is the greatest rabbi the world has ever known. But he didn't grow up in a rabbinical center. Not Jerusalem. Not Alexandria.13:02Not Alexandria. Not Rome. He didn't go to Tuscaloosa. He didn't go to Harvard or MIT. He went to a junior college you've never heard of. In the middle of Kansas. That's the reality. And then Paul says this. This is our Jesus. He said he came to restore the kingdom. But I know Rome is still in power. And he was without sin. But he died a what? Criminal. The world said he was full of sin. And he died between two criminals.13:31And I know you don't believe this. But he rose again. And the kingdom he is declaring is not the kingdom you think. It's a greater kingdom. And Paul is saying to the world. I know you don't understand. I know everything externally is saying be ashamed of your religious convictions. Can anyone relate to that? Everything in the world is saying be ashamed of the Messiah.13:59Be ashamed of the one that you believe in. Keep your religious spiritual convictions at home. Welcome 2017. But Paul is saying I am not ashamed of the gospel. Church, we need to hear that. This is the power of faith. The world might say be ashamed. We don't believe in your Jesus. But Paul is saying I am not ashamed.14:27There is power in faith alone. And this power is found in salvation. Look at this. There's power in salvation. Because, verse 16, it is the power of God for salvation. You know, God's utmost desire for everyone here. And this is the reality. There are people that are sitting here right now that do not believe in Jesus Christ. I'm not going to rat you out.14:56I'm not going to make you stand up. I want you to know this is a safe place to not believe yet. But I want you to know that God is pursuing you. That Jesus died for you. He didn't die because he's waiting for you to believe. He died while we were still in rebellion. And church, if you've come to faith, don't think that Jesus died because you're good. He didn't die because you were a member at Bethel Church, like walking around. Look at me. Or a deacon or a pastor.15:25There's nothing you've done in your life that made God want to die for you. He sent his son to die in spite of you, in spite of me. That gives me hope. Because there is nothing good in me. And yet, God sent his only son. There is joy and there is power in faith alone. This was the truth that freed Martin Luther up. And listen to 2 Peter 3, verse 8. Dear friends.15:55Dear friends. Now, Peter, right? The scoundrel that denied Christ. It's the guy who looked at Jesus and said, Jesus, I'm not going to deny you. It's the same guy that Jesus looked at and said, Get behind me, Satan. You thought you had a rough Sunday? For the son of God to look at you and say, Get behind me, Satan. This is what Peter says. Dear friends, do not let this one thing escape you. So if you only wake up for one thought this morning, do not let this one thing escape you. With the Lord, one day is a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.16:26The Lord does not delay his promise as some understand delay. He's not slow as you think he's slow. But he's patient with you. He is patient. Not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. God's utmost desire for your life is that you would be saved. Jason and Sheila and Connor have experienced that truth.16:54The greatest desire that God has for you is that you would be saved. He desires that none of us perish. None of you perish, but that all, through repentance, would find eternal life. This is the power of faith alone. D.L. Moody said it like this. He said the gospel is a lion and all the pastor has to do is let it out of its cage.17:20The gospel is a lion and all a pastor has to do is let it out of its cage. If you do not believe right now, I want you to know that God is pursuing you actively right now. The fact that God is powerful shows that when his word is proclaimed, that he is active and he is living. The power of the gospel is to who? Verse 16. The power of gospel through faith alone is to who?17:48Who believes? Everyone. The power of the gospel is to who? Everyone. So we cannot look at someone and say, it's not for you. It is for everyone. And there is power for those who believe. Do you believe in Jesus Christ? There is power in faith. There is power in faith alone in Jesus Christ.18:15This is what Martin Luther recognized. He said, I can't do it on my own, but there is power in faith alone through Jesus Christ. Well, if the power is God's, then what is the purpose? What is the purpose of faith? The purpose of faith is your and my salvation. So let's unpack some of the mechanics of that this morning. We take it for granted sometimes that we just grow up in church. Right?18:45Right? And everyone knows what salvation looks like. That is not true. That is not true. Look at verse 16. The power of God's first salvation for everyone who believes, first to the Jew and also to the Greek. For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed. How? From faith. How is God's righteousness revealed? From faith to faith. Just as it was written, the righteous will live by faith. So what is the purpose of faith?19:16It is our conversion, our salvation. So what does that look like? Conversion is this, for us to willingly submit, willingly submit to the King of Kings by turning from ourselves. That's repentance, right? I cannot do it. That was what Martin Luther, he agonized day in and day out. He said, I'm trying my best, but I'm tired. Anyone feel like that? Like this church thing is not working.19:44I try to read my Bible and I close it and I don't remember what I read. Anyone have the same struggle that I do? Or I go to work and 280 traffic hits and then whatever I was meditating on that morning went out the window. And we struggle with shame and guilt because we feel like, God, I'm trying my best and it's just not working. Conversion is this, a willing submission to the King of Kings saying, God, I cannot do it20:14and a turning to God. That is faith. Faith is not a mental belief because mental belief enough is not enough in itself. How do you know that? Because I believe cognitively that seven times seven is 53. Some of you got that. I'm impressed. 49. I knew that. That was an intentional joke some days. That was an intentional error.20:44But you know what? Just because I know that, I don't trust in that. I don't wake up every day saying, you know what? If I just knew, if I knew the capital of Vermont, anyone, anyone brave? Mont-Pierre. Very good. If I just knew that, then I would have success in life. Maybe Sunday morning. That's it. So we know that mental belief21:15in something is not enough. But why do we feel like mental belief in God is enough? Or why do we let people just believe and then we go on our way? Wait, do you believe in God? Oh, of course. Okay, good. You're saved. No. It's a mental belief and an approval of that. Saying, God, I agree with who you are. But approval's not enough. Nicodemus in John 3 comes to Jesus Christ. He believes that Jesus is not of this world. He believes that Christ is something greater.21:44And yet he's still blind. He's in darkness. He said, Rabbi, what must I do to be saved? And Jesus throws him for a loop and said, this is all you had to do, teacher. Be born again. And Nicodemus was like, what is wrong with Jesus? You can't be born again. We take that for granted because that's spiritual language. But imagine for the first time coming to you and saying, look, just be born again. I don't want to go through that process again. There's nothing in my life22:14that says I want to be two. Like we have a two and a half year. I don't want to go through that. Like I've been through my terrible twos. That's enough. And God's repaying us twice for what we've put our parents through. But I don't want to. So sometimes we take that for granted, don't we? We say, well, just be born again. But Jesus is saying there has to be a radical shift in our life. We can't play church. It is by faith alone. There has to be a willing submission.22:44Why is baptism so important? By the way, it is not optional. Jesus didn't say, if you feel like it, if you're feeling super spiritual, be baptized. Jesus says often, follow me. Andrew, Peter, follow me. And they do. Because it is a picture of I have died to myself and I want to be born again in Jesus Christ. That's what it takes for faith. A willing submission to say, God, I need you. And then a personal trust in him.23:14A personal trust in him. Look at verse 17 and verse 16 again. Sorry, verse 16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is his power of God for salvation. For who? For everyone who believes. Believes what? Believes in Jesus. Doesn't believe him, but believes in him. There has to be a personal decision for a personal savior.23:43Is he yours? Just because he died for you doesn't mean you believe yet. Have you made that personal? The purpose of faith is your salvation. That God would radically take you from the kingdom of darkness and make you into the kingdom of light. Church, there is power in faith. There is purpose in our faith. Believe in him. And they're the product of faith.24:14The product of faith is this. Look at verse 17. For in the righteousness of God, is revealed from faith to faith. Just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith. So if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, what a glorious truth this is. But what does that now produce in us? What is the product of our faith alone? Faith in Jesus Christ24:43brings you his righteousness. You see, Martin Luther believed for the majority of his life that he was righteous by what he did. He believed in God. He believed about Jesus, but he also believed, well, God wants me to do a lot of good things and then I'll be righteous. And he saw this verse and it stopped him in his tracks. Verse 17. For in the righteousness of God is revealed.25:11And he began to think about this. Wait, God's righteousness is tied up in salvation. So it's not my righteousness. It's God's righteousness first. And when I believe in Christ, then God's righteousness becomes what? My righteousness. John MacArthur describes it this way. He says in the jury, there's someone that is on trial. They are the accused.25:41And when the jury foreman stands up and reads, Josh, this is your count of being a horrible football fan or whatever it might be. And the jury declares you guilty or innocent. In that moment, the moment of declaration, I am no longer the accused, am I? I am in that moment,26:11I am now either guilty or I am declared free and innocent. The same is with God's righteousness. You see, we have one that's constantly accusing us. His name is Satan, the adversary, the accuser. And he is accusing you right now. God, don't you see what Josh did? Don't you see what Kevin did? God, you know his heart.26:40Don't you know what he was thinking? Or don't you know what Austin did today? Or what he said? Or how angry he got in his car when traffic was stopped and he couldn't get where he needed to go? But in the moment that we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are declared in that moment fully righteous. That is the product of faith.27:08The moment I put my faith in Jesus, I am declared righteous. God doesn't wait because Jesus takes my sin and puts it upon himself on the cross. Colossians says it this way. He takes the payment, actually the debt of sin that we owe, he nails it to the cross and he wipes it clean. But Jesus doesn't simply take your sin away. It's called the imputed righteousness.27:39In addition to taking your sin away when you have faith in him, what does he put back on you? See, God doesn't leave us naked and ashamed. And if all he did was take our sin away, that is enough. I would be so thankful that God has given me forgiveness. But what does he give in our place? He gives us righteousness. So God now looks at me as if I have the robes of righteousness in Jesus Christ. This is explained beautifully28:09in Isaiah 61, verse 10. Isaiah the prophet in the Old Testament. There is grace in the Old Testament. There's mercy in the Old Testament. Why? Because the God today was the God then. I greatly rejoice in the Lord. I exalt in my God for he has clothed me in garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness. As a groom wears a turban28:39and a bride adorns herself with jewels. Isaiah understood that God wraps you with righteousness. And I know what you're thinking. Well, I'm not perfect. No, but God sees you as righteousness because Jesus has declared you righteous on the cross. That is the power of faith. So we can't get in this cycle of God. If I just did more, then I would be right. No, we are declared right the moment we put our faith in God29:08through Jesus Christ. That should let us breathe out and say, God, what a glorious truth. The product of faith alone is imputed, credited righteousness in that moment. Is God still working on us? Absolutely. By all means, we are not perfect, but we are declared and we are righteous.29:36And God sees us now through the lens of Christ, those who believe. Oh, what a glorious, thankful truth. Secondly, I want to leave you with this product of faith alone. If you believe, you're declared righteous. And if we are declared righteous, then we are free. When the Spirit of God is set free is what? Is free. And we can't forget that, that we are free. Sometimes we worship and we put chains on ourself. But we just take those sins back30:07or we take those struggles back and God is screaming at us, you're free. We have a dog that we love on some days and he's in a crate. And he'll be in his crate all night. And we let him out to eat. You know what he wants to do? The crate's open. He just goes right back in the crate. I'm like, dog, you're free. Go run. Go outside. Jump. I don't know, do what dogs do.30:37And you know what he does? He'll eat. He'll drink. And he'll go right back in that place of comfort. Right back in the cage. I'm like, dog, why? And then God says, Josh, why? Church, why? If God has freed us, why do we go back in the cage that Jesus has already freed us from? He's broken. He's canceled the debt31:07of our sin. He gives us the power because he has freed us from our chains and our addictions. Is it easy? No. But are we free? Yes. The product of faith in Christ alone is salvation. It is righteousness in that moment and it is freedom in Christ. I was reading a story this week about two men that go hunting. They were hunting in Georgia and as they were hunting, I don't remember31:37what they were hunting for, some type of bird, probably like the dodo bird or something. We'll say they're trying to find the only one left in the world. and this is actually a true story so it wasn't a dodo bird but they heard something in the distance and before they realized that they saw smoke and realized that there was a brush fire coming towards them and they knew they didn't have time to run away and they started feeling for anything they might have32:06to protect them and they were in an open field and there was no protection and one of the men had matches in his pocket and so he set fire to the field and after it burned off quickly they jumped in the middle of the burn spot and they had a handkerchief and they put it over their face and they let the brush fire pass over them because in that burn spot they were safe. You see, church,32:35if you're trying to do it on your own, your righteousness, your fake righteousness will only lead you to a place where the fire is coming faster and faster and you will only be burned up. There is no hope. It is appointed to a man once to die and then judgment and as real as heaven is, hell is equally real and we will be judged not by my standard,33:04not by your standard, we are all judged by God's standard. but this is the glorious freedom in Jesus Christ. He took the penalty of our sins. He took that spot with the fires coming, with the judgment coming to us, Jesus said, I'll take it and if we have faith in him alone, when the fires of judgment come, we will find safety in Christ if we believe. It is by faith alone33:35in Jesus Christ. The death of Christ is the burned over place. There I huddle, hardly believing, yet relieved. You see, Christ's death has disarmed the law. Spurgeon said it like this, a famous pastor. He said, faith is the silver thread upon which the pearls of graces are strung. And he said, without faith, the pearls fall to the grounds.34:03Do you have faith in God? Do you have faith in Jesus Christ? Can you stand up today and say, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus because it is the power of what? It is the power of God for everyone who believes, not thinks about, not agrees, but belief in faith is saying, God, I will trust in you because I'm tired of doing it34:33on my own. If you have not put your faith in Christ, I want you to know he is pursuing you right now. Right now is God, God is calling you. How do I know that? Because God is not slow as you consider slowness, but he desires what? That no one perish, but that all have everlasting life. Will you put your faith in Christ by recognizing your sin35:01and say, God, I'm tired of doing it. I trust in you. You can do that right where you sit. But we encourage you to make that public, to deal with God, to wrestle with him and to say, Jesus, I thank you. I thank you for the sacrifice. Shortly after our time of response, we're going to have communion. I'm going to invite you to do this during our time of response. The Bible says that we are to prepare our hearts for the Lord's Supper. So I'm going to invite you35:30as we sing a song of response to come down here and ready your heart for communion. And if you have not put your faith in Jesus, that today would be the day where that happens. Where you say, Jesus, I don't know everything, but I do know one thing, that I am a desperately wicked sinner and you are a glorious, gracious God. And today I want to declare that I have died to myself and I am raised in new life. Let's pray.Next in Reformation: 5 statements that form/faith →Sunday, October 15, 2017
