NCC Question 35
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Question 35
Question 35
Before we get into our lesson—I need a volunteer. (Have a staff person pick them). Take this gift—don’t open it yet, just keep it with you—no one is allowed to touch it.
This block we have focused primarly on what is salvation, how we are saved and even what that salvation looks like.
I want to take a few minutes this morning to review the questions we have covered briefly—for a quick and simple view.
I have a series of questions for you and I need you to give responses on the answers—doesnt have to be the textbook answer, just answer the question.
Q27: Are all people, just as they were lost through Adam, saved through Christ?
No—only those who are elected by God and united to Christ by faith
Can anyone be elected by not united?
30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Q28: What happens after death to those not united to Christ by faith?
They will be cast out from the presence of God, into hell, to be justly punished, forever.
Q29: How can we be saved?
Only by faith in Jesus Christ and in his substitutionary atoning death on the cross.
Q30: What is faith in Jesus Christ?
Receiving and resting on Him alone for salvation as He is offered to us in the gospel.
Q31: What do we believe by true faith?
We believe in God the Father, creator of all things, Jesus Christ, the redeemer, and the Holy Spirit, the helper---among many other things
Q32: What do justification and sanctification do?
Justification means our declared righteousness before God.
Sanctification means our gradual growing righteousness
Q33: Should those who have faith in Christ seek their salvation through their own works, or anything else?
No—everything necessary to salvation is found in Christ.
Q34: Since we are redeemed by grace alone, through Christ alone, must we still do good works and obey God’s Word?
Yes, so that our lives may show love and gratitude to God; and so that by our godly behavior others may be won to Christ
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Q35: Since we are redeemed by grace alone, through faith alone, where does this faith come from?
Before we get to the answer I want to start with an object lesson. I need two volunteers.
Go ahead and pass these out—these are very important—I have a prize for the first person that can complete this. First person to complete this word search selecting all the correct words and only the correct words gets a grand prize.
Now—where is my present—go ahead and open it. What is inside?
A completed word search and all the words you were looking for. Go ahead and come up here and choose one other person. You can each open these gifts. What did you get?
How many of you were able to complete the word search with all the correct answers? Why not? You may have been able to find some words but who knows if they were correct and you have no idea what else your missing.
We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, but this faith is nothing that we sought for or found on our own. We didn’t hop on amazon and order a big old serving of faith. We didn’t pick up the best books and read through them and find faith. We didn’t listen to the top sermons and find faith.
Now, some of those—probably not the amazon one, are avenues in which we recieve faith---by hearing the word, reading the word, studying the word, memorizing the word—but where does faith come from?
God? But specifically— the Holy Spirit.
A35: All gifts we receive from Christ, we receive through the Holy Spirit, including faith itself.
So if you recieved the present you have the words but here are the words in your word search you should have been looking for
Astray
Disobedient
Envy
Foolish
Hated
Hating
Malice
Slaves
All of these words come straight from our passage this morning to describe those who are not Christians.
So if you were known by these words—if this described your life—are you deserving of any gifts? Would Santa bring you anything at Christmas?
Are you deserving of the best gift the world has even known—salvation through Jesus Christ and is death on the cross?
NO
No one, we don’t, deserve this gift that God gives us and even more so—when we are foolish, disobedient, slaves—we have no way to obtain this gift on our own. We cannot earn it—we cannot earn God’s grace and faith.
There are some of you in here that are smart enough, if I gave you enough time I think you may be able to find all the correct words and complete this word search. It would take you a long time and you may find words that are not amongst this list, but it is possible.
This grid is 12 by 12. What if I made it 100 by 100—would is be easier or harder? What about 1000 x 1000? 1 million by 1 million? Do you think you could ever find these 8 words amongst 1 trillion letters?
That still doesn’t compare to how impossible it is for us to find favor in God’s eyes based on our works and specifically our works pre regeneration.
To continue on this thought process of gifts—what is a gift that would change your life?
For your age group it could be as simple as a new car.
What about like truly life changing gifts?
A new heart. A million dollars. A giant new house. These things change every part of your life—what your able to do, who wants to be with you, your ability to keep living in the one case.
Whats the problem with those gifts?
At some point then lose there value—the money eventually goes away, its all spent. The heart eventually stops working. The house breaks down and begins to fall apart.
One final thought on gifts.
On what occasions do people receive gifts?
Christmas, birthdays. Any other times? Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Anniversaries, Valentines Day, Graduation, Promotion at work, milestone years at a job.
What makes something a gift?
It is freely given—otherwise thats not a gift thats stealing
It is not earned—otherwise thats a prize
It is given out of the kindness of the heart of the giver of the gift.
The gift of faith is the most precious gift we could ever receive and that which cannot be worked for to receive.
Turn with me to Titus chapter 3
1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Paul is writing a letter to Titus who most likely served alongside Paul during his second missionary journey. Paul has just gotten out of prison and will soon be going back to prison, and these are the things he finds critical to remind and encourage Titus with.
Paul starts with some commands of things we should not do, that Titus as a young pastor, just remind his people not to do. Why would Paul include these things?
Paul actually tells us remind them of these things because we have great reason to not do those things. Why?
What does verse 3 say we were? Foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to passion and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
That sounds lovely? That sounds like us! Pre-salvation, that is each and every person in this room.
What does verse 4 say about why God saved us?
The goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared
According to verse 5 who saved us?
HE saved us, not because of works done by us in rightesouness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
According to verse 5 did he save us because we worked really hard to be saved?
The bible is clear it was not because of anything we have done
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
It was his great mercy that saved us.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
According to verse 5, how were we saved?
the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit
2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
The Spirit is at work in us and was at work in us to make new, regenerate our hearts from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh.
How are we justified or made right with God? In verse 7?
by His grace.
Remember justified is by faith alone by his grace.
John MacArthur, “When sinners repent and place their faith in Jesus Christ, God declares them just, imputes the righeousness of Christ to them, and gives them eternal life by viture of the substitutionary death of Christ as the penalty for their iniquity.
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
Those that have been saved have been made new by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and the work on the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Each one of us who follow Christ have the Holy Spirit living inside us.
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
This is Jesus speaking as he is nearing the end of the his ministry—understandably the disciples were probably anxious, sad, depressed. This great teacher is leaving—what will be do, how will we know what to do? Jesus addresses this right before his accends
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
And in the next chapter this is fulfilled:
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Later Paul reminds us this has happened:
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
The Holy Spirit is living inside us and that Holy Spirit did a miraculous work in our hearts to make new, cleanse, redeem our lives so that we are now able to walk in the manner in which we are called to walk. That Holy Spirit gave us this faith that now includes us in this great crowd of witnesses that Hebrews and Revelation talks about.
