Untitled Sermon (2)

II. SOME THINGS EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW CONCERNING HIS RELIGIOUS (SPIRITUAL) LIFE

A. HOW TO TEST FAITH FOR GENUINENESS

The Bible speaks of several kinds of faith which will not save us. We should ask ourselves the following questions to determine whether our faith is the saving kind.

1. Do we have a believing faith? Believing faith believes God’s testimony concerning the person of His Son (that His Son is God, ) and the work of His Son (that His Son is the exclusive Savior of men, ; ). A non-believing faith will not save us, .

2. Do we have a continuing faith? Continuing faith does not burn up in the midst of hot trials and tests, , but continues on, . A non-continuing faith will not save us, .

3. Do we have a confessing faith? A confessing faith openly confesses Christ as Savior. A non-confessing faith, a faith which will not publicly confess Christ, is a non-saving faith, ; , .

4. Do we have a working faith? A working faith is a faith which, under favorable circumstances, produces fruits of righteousness. A non-working faith is a non-saving faith, .

5. Do we have an obeying faith? An obeying faith is a faith which obeys Christ’s commands. A non-obeying faith, a faith which refuses to do Christ’s commands, is a non-saving faith, ; .

B. HOW TO RESPOND TO THE THREE ENEMIES OF A CHRISTIAN

The Bible teaches us that a Christian has three enemies, the world, the flesh, and the Devil. How should we fight (respond to) these three enemies?

1. We should replace the things of the world—We should be so occupied and so filled with the things above us that there is little or no room in us for the things around us, ; ; ; , ; , .

2. We should flee the lusts of the flesh—We should hurriedly remove ourselves from things which tempt us in connection with our fleshly lusts, ; ; .

3. We should stand against Satan—We should stand against the attacks of Satan and repulse him by means of the word, ; ; , .

C. HOW TO RESPOND TO GOD’S SPIRITUAL GIFTS

God gives to every Christian certain abilities that he might perform certain functions in the body of Christ. How should we as Christians respond to these gifts?

1. We should recognize our gifts—We should not think of ourselves more highly or more lowly than we ought to think but we should think soberly, . That is, we shouldn’t believe that we possess gifts that we don’t possess, neither should we deny that we possess the gifts that we do possess.

2. We should accept our gifts—We should recognize our gifts and be content with them and not be dissatisfied because we do not possess the gifts of others.

3. We should thank God for our gifts—Rather than being dissatisfied with our gifts, we should accept them and be thankful for them.

4. We should polish our gifts—Through study and exercise, we ought to perfect our gifts that they might be used more effectively, .

5. We should diligently use our gifts—We should diligently fulfil our calling, , .

6. We should not try to exercise other persons gifts.

D. HOW TO OVERCOME TEMPTATION

1. Be on guard against temptation—We should ever be on guard against temptation, but we should especially be on guard after great victories and mountain-top experiences. “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall,” .

2. Purpose not to fall during temptation—Often we know hen a temptation is due to arrive. In such a case, we should, while we are yet able to think calmly, think on the consequences of falling and upon the rewards of resisting, and then we should purpose that we will not yield to the temptation when it comes, ; . If we have fixed our purpose ahead of time, we are fortified against falling when the temptation comes upon us and we are emotionally involved in it.

3. Pray for help when undersoing temptation—We, like Jesus, , should pray for victory in the time of temptation.

4. Send Jesus to answer Satan’s knock of temptation—When Satan knocks on our door to tempt us, we should ask Jesus to answer the door. Then Satan will leave saying, “Pardon me, 1 have the wrong house.”

E. HOW TO RESPOND TO A COMPLIMENT

When someone compliments us concerning our spiritual gifts or our spiritual accomplishments, how should we respond?

1. We should graciously receive the praise—“Thank you,” “that’s very kind of you,” “I appreciate that,” etc.

2. We should refrain from advertising our humility—If we say, “Brother, don’t praise me, praise God,” we are really saying, “Yes, I am not only a great person but I am also a very humble person.”

3. We should secretly pass the glory on to God—We should secretly give God the glory for our gift or for any good work done, acknowledging that it is His work done through us.

F. HOW TO GIVE AND RECEIVE A REBUKE

We as Christians are our “brother’s keeper,” ; , ; ; . We are to reprove or rebuke our brother if he needs it and he is to reprove or rebuke us if we need it. How are we to give and receive a rebuke?

1. How to give a rebuke

a. Be sure the person needs to be rebuked—Jealousy, anger, etc., may be the cause of our feeling to reprove or rebuke our brother. We should be sure the planned rebuke is motivated by a concern for our brother’s well being.

b. Be sure God is moving upon you to do the rebuking—Is the Holy Spirit really moving us to do this?

c. Pray before you go—We should ask God to give us calmness, fearlessness, wisdom, and meekness in the execution of our assignment.

d. Think before you go—We should plan what we are going to say and we should plan our responses to what our brother may say.

e. Administer the rebuke

(1) Approach the brother prayerfully, calmly, and meekly

(2) Praise the brother for his good traits and deeds

(3) Tell the brotlier of your desire to help him

(4) Reprove the brother meekly

(5) Tell the brother of your confidence that he will receive the reproof as he should

2. How to receive a rebuke

a. Pray for calmness and control over the tongue while you are being rebuked—This is vitally important.

b. Admit that the rebuke may be needed

c. Promise to consider the truthfulness of the charges

d. Go home and think on what has been said—Are we guilty of the thing charged? Did we need to be rebuked? Did God send the person to rebuke us?

e. Thank God and the brother for the rebuke if it was needed

f. Suffer the rebuke for Christ’s sake if it was unjustly administered—All unjust suffering endured patiently for Christ’s sake will receive a reward, .

G. HOW TO WISELY EXERCISE CHRISTIAN LIBERTIES

Moral things and immoral things are things that God has commanded us to do or not to do. Amoral things (neutral things, indifferent things) are things not commanded or forbidden by God. We are at liberty to do or not to do these things. If we exercise our liberty in regard to amoral things when we shouldn’t, we do not sin but we commit an act of unwisdom.

In regard to amoral things, how can we know when we should exercise our liberty and when we should refrain from exercising our liberty? If we ask the following questions, we find guidance in the use and the non-use of our Christian liberties:

1. Will the exercise of this liberty enslave me or leave me free? See . If it will enslave me, then I should refrain from using it. If it will leave me free, then I may safely use it.

2. Will the exercise of this liberty hinder my growth in Christ or will it expedite this growth? See . If it will hinder my growth, then I should refrain from using it. If it will expedite my growth, then I should use it.

3. Will the exercise of this liberty tear down my brother or will it edify him? See . If it will tear him down, then I should refrain from using it. If it will edify him, then I should use it.

4. Will the exercise of this liberty dim God’s glory or promote His glory? See . If it will dim His glory, I should refrain from using it. If it will promote His glory, then I should use it.

H. HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE

1. Become saved—The natural man can’t understand the deep things of God, .

2. Surrender your life to God—If we do this, then the Holy Spirit can and will illumine Scripture to us, ; .

3. Become familiar with the Bible’s content—The Bible has keys for its own interpretation, so we often must have a general knowledge of the whole Bible in order to interpret a certain passage in the Bible.

4. Pray for illumination—The Holy Spirit wrote Scripture, , , so He is the only one who can correctly interpret Scripture, .

5. Consider tlie context of the passage being studied—We should consider the immediate context, the book context, and the whole Bible context.

6. Meditate on the passage being studied—We must do much meditation on the Scriptures if we are to understand them as we should.

7. Consult good commentaries—Purchase the very best commentaries on each Bible book. Consult commentaries only after you have searched for the meaning of Scripture apart from them.

8. Ask older and wiser Christians for light on the portion of Scripture being studied—Often they can greatly help us.

I. HOW TO LIVE A LIFE PLEASING TO GOD

1. Be faithful in church attendance ()—If we are faithful in church attendance, we will more than likely be faithful in the other areas of our Christian life because at church we hear and experience things which motivate us to be faithful in the other areas of our spiritual life.

2. Be faithful in financial stewardship (2 Cor., chapters 8, and 9)—If Old Testament saints had to give 10% of their increase to God, surely we New Testament saints should voluntarily give at least as much. Out of love, we should go beyond a tithe if we are able to do so. We should give, not only to the local church, but also to charitable causes, .

3. Be faithful in doctrine—We should, through reading the Bible and through hearing the Bible being taught, learn the doctrines of the Bible and then we should ever be careful that no man ever leads us astray, , ; ; ; .

4. Be faithful in spirituality—We should be spiritual, be led of the Spirit, not only on holy days and on special occasions, but also at all other times. Since we live in the Spirit, we are to walk in the Spirit, .

5. Be faithful in morality—We should live spotless lives on Sunday and through the week, in the darkness and in the light, on the mountain-top and in the valley, in church and on the job, in the pulpit and out of the pulpit, etc., , .

6. Be faithful in witnessing, (, ; )—We should, in season and out of season, be faithful in witnessing. To please Christ, we must ever be sowing but not necessarily ever be reaping, for not all Christians are called to reap, , .

7. Be faithful in Christian service—This includes the visiting of the poor, the sick, and the needy, and the putting forth of our hand to every good work, , .

J. HOW TO FIGHT THE CHRISTIAN WARFARE ()

1. Know the power of the enemy (, )—We should know that we wrestle not only against evil men but also against Satan and the evil angels who are behind evil men. Also, we should know t

2. Be strong in the Lord and in His power ()—We can’t be strong in ourselves for we have but little strength, but we can be strong in the Lord (in our union with the Lord), for in our union with Him, His strength is available to us.

3. Put on the whole armor of God (, )—We should put on the following seven pieces of armor, the first five of them being defensive armor and the last two being offensive armor:

a. The girdle of truth—We should gird ourselves with the quality of truthfulness. If is difficult for the enemy to down us if we ever tell the truth.

b. The breastplate of righteousness—A righteous life muzzles the mouth of our false accusers, ; .

c. The sandals of peace—If we are filled with the gospel’s experiential peace, we are free from worry, fear, anxiety, etc., things through which Satan leads us into sin.

d. The shield of faith—A firm trust in God and His promises turns aside the arrows of Satan’s temptations.

e. The helmet of salvation—The hope of final salvation keeps us from being unduly concerned with the adversities of this life.

f. The sword of the Spirit, the word of God—The word of God is both a defensive and an offensive weapon.

g. The weapon of prayer—Prayer, like the word of God, is both a defensive and an offensive weapon.

4. Be alert for repeated onslaughts ()—Having successfully with stood Satan, we should stand ready for a renewed attack. Satan never gives up, admitting defeat, ; .

Gingrich, R. E. (2002). Some Things Every Christian Should Know (pp. 10–15). Memphis, TN: Riverside Printing.