God Is At Work In you

Introduction: The Problem of 1 John 3:7-10

[RECAP] Last week, we shared with you the important message of the gospel—that we are not saved by our works, but because of the work of Jesus Christ. By faith through grace are we saved. It is important that we accept this message and believe it, wholeheartedly. It will determine and set the course of spiritual walk with Christ.

Another scripture that comes to mind and bears this point is Ephesians 2:8–10, which says, “8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

[PROBLEM] However our text, 1 John 3:7-10 poses several problems for the modern church. As a society and a national Christian community, we have normalized sin. While we are conscience of imperfection, we have to also accept the standard of holiness and righteousness. So, the question is—how do we accept our Christian responsibility to be holy while recognizing our Christian liberty?

[SAYING I BELIEVE…] What we discover here is saying I believe is not the same thing as actually believing. Belief is the thing that enables us to access all God provides for the purpose of living in accordance to His will.

[PREMISE] Premise: If we are truly saved, there will be evidential and divinely-provoked fruit as a result of my faith.

Two Questions Clarified

If I were to ask you, why did God save you? what would be your answer? Some of our answers would go like this:

So I can go to heaven

So I can have eternal life/ abundant life

So I can have a relationship with God

So I can have forgiveness of my sins

However, when we ask the question, these answers prove that we heard, what do I receive after being saved because known of the sort of responses we have provided actually answer the question of why? If we seriously answer the question of why we will come to a more concise and focused answer to why GOD wants us saved.

[ARGUMENT] Premise: When Jesus granted us salvation, He did so for the purpose of accomplishing God’s will to use mankind for His glory.

Story: A friend once showed an artist a costly handkerchief on which a blot of ink had been made. “Nothing can be done with it now, it is absolutely worthless.” The artist made no reply, but carried it away with him. After a time he sent it back, to the great surprise of his friend, who could scarcely recognize it. In a most skillful and artistic way he had made a fine design in India ink, using the blot as a basis, making the handkerchief more valuable than ever. A blotted life is not necessarily a useless life. Jesus can make a life beautiful though it has been marred by sin.

The entire biblical narrative demonstrates how God uses imperfect creatures to perform His perfect will. We may identify this as purpose. God saved us to carryout our divine purpose. And this divine purpose has always required some sort of work—not to be, but because.

Scripture References:

Adam- Genesis 2:5 “neither wild plants nor grains were growing on the earth. For the Lord God had not yet sent rain to water the earth, and there were no people to cultivate [ till] the soil.”

Israel- Exodus 7:16 “Then announce to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you, “Let my people go, so they can worship [serve] me in the wilderness.” Until now, you have refused to listen to him.” Exodus 8:1 “*Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go back to Pharaoh and announce to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so they can worship [serve] me.” Exodus 8:20 “Then the Lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand in Pharaoh’s way as he goes down to the river. Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so they can worship [serve] me.” Exodus 9:1 ““Go back to Pharaoh,” the Lord commanded Moses. “Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship [serve] me.” Exodus 9:13 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship [serve] me.”

Christians- Hebrews 9:13–14 “Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds* so that we can worship [serve] the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.” Ephesians 2:8–10 “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

[NO WORSHIP WITHOUT WORK] Essentially, the Bible is unfamiliar with work work that does not require some sort of worship.

How Does This Work?

[PHILIPPIANS 2:12-13] Considering this reality how do I stop sinning. How can I be sure that I know God?

God is working in us (Philippians 2:12-13)

Desire

Power

God is creating us anew (Ephesians 2:8-10)