How to Strengthen Your Faith: Use the Word, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper Well
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Dear Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Last Sunday I needed to ask you whether your faith was working - Paul said, only thing that counts is faith working through love. We saw in James that aone kind of faith isn’t true faith at all, that’s one that’s not accompanied with good works. He said the good works that flow out of our new standing with God, they complete faith aand bring it to its goal. But before our catechism moves us into serivce, gratitude, Christian living - it wants you to live and die in the joy of the comfort of belinging to Jesus, to understand that faith that saves, faith the justifies, faith that will produce good works, it is not a one time deal. Our faith - though there is a definte start point in our being born-again, being regenerated, new principle of life - grace, the ongoing exercise of your faith is essential to growth and assurance and working of your faith.
Kind of like some people think - sequentially move fromsin, then salvatink then sergice, leaving them behind. But no continually growing in undertanding ofall three. Never graduate in this life. So too with faith, not just belive, justified wait for heaven. Could say that your faith - though once granted never ultimately lose it, it never stys the same in this life, it weakens, deadens, gets burdened, it can get out of shpae, it grow, burns white hot, brings solid joy, contentment. So God’s Word makes it clear that our faith must be created, sustained, and grown and their are methods, means of grace, tools which God’s ordained for that to happen. The problem is we are so used to them, like bread, water, gas, electricity. imagine hwo much of life was given to sustainng all basics a hundered years ago. So too reading and hearing of God’s Word, the gift of your baptism and them emory of it, the participation you have at the Lord’s Table. And our catechism summarizing Scriptures teaching, partiuclary from wants us to know how to deliberately and effectively use the three tools God’s given us to strengthen our faith!
A) God’s Living Word is The Treasure that Originates Faith
Undestand taht saving faith, isnt just a feeling of spirituality or closeness to the Divine. Saving faith is a trust in the lIving God as he revealed HIself in His Word. What was it that Abraham was trusting on - not just God in general, but the tool the Holy Spirit used. When it says that ABraham believed God and it was cretied to him as righteousness, vv.13-25 make it clear that it was Abraham beliving God’s speical particuarl concrete word of promise - the gospel of God. God spoke audibly about the land, a kingdom, a blessing to nations caught in death. and above all of a seed - the pinnacle of his faith and his faith working by love wehere all about the promise of God to bless the world through that seed. Now there was time when God’s promised seemed slow in comiong - made Elizier his servant an heir, but God spoke to him again, you will have a child, blessing through him - And even when asked to sacrfice, listen to what we read of how Abrhaam grew his faith, how strengthened:
No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,
No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
What was the substance of that proimse? Him and Sarah belived God could bring life out of the dead - out f their barrenness for the birth. Abraham believd God could even raise the proimsed seed from the dead:
as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
Do you understand that? The gospel was preached to Abraham by God 430 years before the law:
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”
And Abraham taking and then in an ongoing way trusting in this word -believed!
And it is no different for us than for Abraham. The Holy Spirit creates faith when we hear the gospel promises of God’s word - and then trust in those promises Why Paul says
And it is no different for us than for Abraham. The Holy Spirit creates faith when we hear the gospel promises of God’s word - and then trust in those promises Why Paul says
But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,
This is why though we preach of Christian living, and of righeousness, and God’s law, the big deal that must never be covered over, is Christ, all that’s proimsed in Him by grace. The Word about him, all Scripture speaks about (Luke 24:25-27), call put put there trust not in works, but in Christ - that is how the Holy Spriit creates fiath in us - throug this word -
since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
Now it is all of grace - and Christ is the author and finisher of our faith, (). Further only the Spirit enables us to understand and take hold of the promises:
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
But our dependence on the grace, on the Spirit, on the Word, i nno way makes our efforts to attain slavation unnecessary. The Holy Spirit is the cause and originator of our faith, it is our believing and applying the Word of the Gospel that works faith, and our proper use of baptism and the Lord’s Supper that confirms it.
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.
our dependence on the grace, on the Spirit, on the Word, i nno way makes our efforts to attain slavation unnecessary. The Holy Spirit is the cause and originator of our faith, through the Word, but
B) God’s Living Word is The Treasure that Also Sustains Faith
Our text teaches us how Abraham didn’t live by bread alone, but ongoing faith in every word that proceeded from the mouth of God to him.
Wonderful testimonies of faith, necessary that there are traiditons of doing faith, way we work, nisitries, even way we worship… whether old or new traidtions handed dow. But it is only the Word of God in the Scritpture that gives us sufficient knowledge of God, of ourselves, and of God’s Will concerning us.
Live in times when so many Christains livng not by daily intake of God’s Wrod, but traditions of men in their worship, more appetite for famous preachers books than God’s very Word. Jesus says, can’t do that:
in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
The Apostle Paul explains:
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
We are to believe the word of God heartily, wholly, and only as the true perfect and sole rule of our faith and practice. 2 TImothy 3:15-16. No one really grows in grace unless they are growing in the knowledge of Jesus Christ -se forth in the Scriptures:
Do you remember the parable Jesus taught:
And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
You’ve got the treasure of what you first believed about Christ and His work but does it stop there - shallow enough for us to wade in, deep enough for an elephant to swim in -. But are pushing on into new discoveries, God’s will for your life now, proimses of Christ, - understand only in the word can those promises come to you…
Why Jesus prayer as he was accomplishing salvaitn and then going to be leaving our world is:
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
That’s why we see when Paul has established all those churches this morning in that first missionary journey what did he do when he was done?
When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
Do you get that your communio with Christ, your active living in grace, doesn’t stand still, either decreasing or increasing - and your soul needs to be strengthened day by day. An dit is only the Word - shared, pondered, received, applied,
Understand this is why the catechism says the Word produces faith, and grows it, but the sacraments can only confirm it!
But what then of these other tools, why do we need them? Why did God give Abraham both a SIGN and a SEAL. Why does the Christian church say that the sacraments, mysteries in Gk. that they are signs and seals also that confirm and strengthen existing faith?
C. Receive the Sacraments as Signs that More Fully Declare God’s Promises
In the NT the word translated sacrament was a common one in the other new E religions coming into the Roman Empire. They all had special ceremonies or rites that only those who a deeper undertanding of them could participate in. IE Masonic Lodge - different levels, ceremonies all the way up, also a death - Now only those who understand them were admitted to share in the mysteries, Those who were devoted to the study and practice of that partiuclar relkgion. Actually called the mystery religions.
Well all through world history God has set up covenant and attached to them signs for us to understand more clearly. The trees, the rainbow, circumcision, the fire and smoke at Sinai. When we partiicpate in these sacraments must look at them first of all as illustrations of what God wants to teach us. Like sermon illustration, story or parrellel anaolgy in nature - seek to understand grace more fully
And this is so important. it is why we read the words of institution every time we celebrate a sacrament. The sign attached to a covenant, not a human sign that we dreamed up as a good illustration. It is a God-given sign - and only that which God means by the wsign counts. A sign he graciously gives that no one of us can demand that God gives. God graciuosly gives us this sign - that we might direct our faith to Jesus who gives the reality of the cleansing and the eterna life pictured for us. Its like God gives magical mirrors in whch we see reflected all the blessing of Christ, monuments which we turn to again and agin to udnerstand the action God proimses in Christ for our liives!
Favourite song writer, Andrew Peterson - little windows in our world, of all the goodness getting through. Doyou have your heart open to the window of heaven, do you see the graces represented for you in the water, the bread, and the wine?
- baptism -feel the flith of sin, the death ofby drowning it, feel the cleansing power - the wonder that blood no longer required, that death already dealt for my sin, new life; udnerstand that scrubbing of the soul is what the gospel is aobut, .. the ongoing proimses I must live in - Part of what it means to improve on your baptism - each time and through your life udnerstand more deeply that cleasning, that adoption,
Like circumcision - t4eaching tool - that is how we’re brought into coveant community - whetehr convert or families - God cuts away sin from us, by faith we are to live having our hearts circumcised to him. In the same way baptism must do its onging and vivid teahcing.
So too in coming to the table - God takes the whole gospel - and like you have to figure out a sermon illustration - you are to poinder how Christ’s body and blood are what feeds you and keep you alive. How is Christ’ body and blood given to you the way you obtain a new and everlasting life. To see the braking of the bread and the pouring out of the wine - the active taking - not just teaching includsion on body of Christ - but active onogin living in comjunion with this Christ. THough the sacrament adds nothing to the truth of Christ’s spiritual nourishment itself, it helps us understaqnd the truth more clearly, and applyit to ourselves more closely. So when we see the bread broken and the wine poured out - supposed to have before our souls the constant dependence we have on Christ’ work, teaching and His Spirit - receive all of that in rich communion with HIm
So too in coming to the table - God takes the whole gospel - and like you have to figure out a sermon illustration - you are to poinder how Christ’s body and blood are what feeds you and keep you alive. How is Christ’ body and blood given to you the way you obtain a new and everlasting life. To see the braking of the bread and the pouring out of the wine - the active taking - not just teaching includsion on body of Christ - but active onogin living in comjunion with this Christ.
But lastly if you want to grow in your faith, if not on the decline in the midst of ups and down and situation of life, the sacraments must also become for you SEALS
But lastly if you want to grow in your faith, if not on the decline in the midst of ups and down and sitration of life, the sacraments must also become for you SEALS
D. Receive the Sacraments as Ongoing Seals of Your Covenant with God
Let’s be honest here part of our struggle in keeping strong in our faith, is looking at the events of our life of this world - and we wonder does God really love me if this. Why me. Is God really for me. So many promises yet to come true. Only changed a little bit - maybe I am not saved, Maybe God’s love in not fromeverlasting to everlating.
Well a seal is given, to confirm a relationship and the promises of a relationship to us. Certify that power of that covenant still in effect. Symbol of rings when couples apart. The goldenness, or titaniumness - precious and costly metal - that true love and faithfulness are priceless..
There is covenantal action that goes on in receiving and taking a sign. What happens with God, what happens with us in the sacraments? God is saying, let me certify that promise to you - so you have no douts about the reliabiltynad effectiveness of
God set up a covenant with Israel at Sinai - but there is a whole renewal ceremony for second gerneation whe they cross - the Jordan - God says take up those stones in the Jordan set them up - not only signs abut seals - in this relationship in new land toegeher. Peole at Gilgal Mt Gilgal and Geriizm - renew their lpledge to God too!
So too withthe passover - seal and pledge - gave my first born son - perfect sacrifical lamb in your place, adopt you as my first born son saved from death, freed from slavery - baptism in read sea - renewal happened to all those who live by faith!
SO too in the New Covenant, sealed by Jesus blood - everything that is promised in the covenant is authenticated to those who by faith receive the Supper as a seal of the covenant. This is why circumcision is called in v.4 and v.9
,
just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.
That is the promise of the covenant - counted righteous, v.9 literally the declaration of blessedness. The saraments are not just one part of the covenat forgievness, adoption, gif tof the Spirit - but they seal the whole of the covenant and its proises to us. What are the porimses, what are the riches of Christ that we are to be focused upon and taking hold in a heightened way when we come to the table:
effectual calling, justification, adoption, preservation, eternal glorification - that’s what it means to be united to Christ in bpatims, to have communion and participation with him in the body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.
Now this is a beuatiful part of our salvation, when together - the same way at the same time we partkae by faith in our eatin gand drinkin. But just as precious as the unity all together with Christ, is the personal individual nature of that sealing to those using the sacraments with faith.
What does our text say: a
He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,
The meaning his received the seal of his own righteousness (received by faith). Pay attention it is not that you come to this table, and if you happen to have faith that day at that moment, then you will have the seal to God’s proimse. Faith isn’t the condition of the sealing you can receive here. Faith is presupposed, gift of fiath already implanted in you, or will be implanted in the case of an infant baptism, and God responding to your faith, faith of those parents, says I am personally going to strengthen you and your faith with this seal at the Supper, or in the case of baptism I;m going to seal these proimse to all who truly receive what’s promsed in them by faith, live in these realityies. And even though circumcision nor the Lord’s Supper, nor Baptism can save, listen to what God says to Abraham about that sacrament: a. That sealing is by God’s appointment - listen to how strongly God says it of circumcision
This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.
In the supper we are offering our hearts to God; and he through the sacraments, seals that grace, not outwardly, but by the power of the HOly Spirit that accompnaies the sacrmaent when combined with faith.
You need to feel this about the specialness of the upper and your baptism. Nothing that’s not in the Word preached, so can be saved without the sacraments. But strengthening happens with sacraments in your life. And the special thing that the sacraments have in the strengthening that word doesn’t is this personal individual actino of God. The Word is preached in gernal to all, recieved as the community of faith. Preached indiscriminately to saved and unsaved, weak and to strong.
But listen the sacraments to those who have that faith, that sacraments now for them it is as if He extends His own hand, and He stretches out to us, individually in ou own persons, His own grace and all the spiritual blessings equally.
How do we use the sacraments rightly as seals then? We seek to grow in grace by them. We gaze on Christ who is the One offering them to us we see the graces He mens to give and we allow Him to seal our slavtion in fulness to us!
Don’t hesitate, don’t rob yourself of deep consoloation and comfort and assurance. Take up the Word but use your baptism and the Supper to strengthen your souls in this grace. Use your baptism and the Supper to grow your faith and more firmly hold proimses and graces of your slavation. Amen.
But in conclusion, let me share with you a parting thought about the necessity of your use of hte Word and the sacramentnot only for your own perosnal growth, but also for the growth of the church. Most basically Christ has chosen you, his peole to be wtinesses for him of His grace. How do we make known his gospel to the world? We are to come out of the world (spiritually), to Him to be eparate and take our Cross and folow him. To have a deeper fellowship with each other, than is possible with any other group in the world. And the sacraments are the outward marks for believers and believers and their household - of the faith and love - what lives in our hearts, what we are engaged in - that the world would that that there is a church, that the crucified and Risen Christ hav a following in this world . So in baptism there is a dedication of our selves and hour households to the service of Christ - through the promise of the washing. In the Lord’s Supper you and I ratify our faithfulness toChrist, and akcnowledge this fellowship as one family we gather around the holy table, united to our common head.
And not only to the world but to God. And God to us. GOd said to Abraham:
And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.
Everytime a parent presented a child dedicating him to God, God on his part would ratify the covenant made with Abrhaam and his seed. In the same way the passover, remindign them of the deliverance, those households and individuals cast themselves on God in trust - be our constant protector and redeemer.
Everytime we celebrate a sacrament, Christ in powerfully present spiritually to renew and cofrim the New Covena twith power to wash away sin and keep us His people. So that whoever in faith receives the sacrament, baptism whenever it comes to and every time witnessed and remember there after, and every time we come to the table, - we do spiritually and persoally receive the promis and grace of Jesus! nOT SAVING US, BUT CONFIRMING WHATS PROIMSED AND RECEIVED BY FAITH.