Untitled Sermon (2)
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Alexander Hamilton
In 1757 a boy was born out of wedlock in the Caribbean islands. Being poor and orphaned as an 11 year old child, he had nothing going for him and no way of climbing out of the hole he found himself in; that is, until a rich merchant adopted him. He brought him up to his teen years, gave him a home and a job and taught him important life skills. Given a new shot at life, Hamilton educated himself and took full advantage of every resource available to him. The community was impressed with his drive, and sent him to New York with enough resources to get a proper education. The boy grew into the man we know as Alexander Hamilton, and he would eventually become one of George Washington’s most trusted assistants, the driving force behind ratifying the United States Constitution, the founder of the America’s Bank, The United States Coastguard and the New York Post newspaper. An impressive life no doubt, and it would have never been possible without the compassion and resources of that rich merchant or the intense drive of Alexander Hamilton. Had that rich merchant and community never had compassion on the poor orphan, nobody would know the name Alexander Hamilton and our nation would likely look quite different. The same could be said if Hamilton squandered the opportunities given to him.
In our passage tonight, Paul is going to describe how we all find ourselves in the same position as the young and orphaned Hamilton and how God works to bring us out of that place.
Our Obedience Should Be Modeled After Christ
Our Obedience Should Be Modeled After Christ
Therefore: What is it there for?
We talked last week about Christ’s perfect, humble obedience to God the Father; obedience even to the point of death, and that death on a cross
Paul is translating that idea of obedience to us and commanding us to follow the example laid out before us
Our Salvation Is A Process We Are Involved In
Our Salvation Is A Process We Are Involved In
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
Work out your own salvation? What is Paul trying to say here?
Would Paul really make a claim that salvation is based on our works, which comes in direct conflict with everything else he has written in Scripture? This is the guy who said
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
So which is it? Is salvation a gift from God, or do we have to work it out?
We are now walking on a theological minefield so we have to be careful with our words here, but the answer to the question is yes: I’ll explain why.
Salvation is made up of three parts according to Scripture:
Justification: declared righteous (have been saved)
Sanctification: becoming holy (are being saved)
Glorification: made perfect (will be saved)
God is the driving force behind all three aspects of our salvation, and all three are direct gifts of grace.
However, Paul is going to teach us about sanctification and how, although it is still God’s grace, we are involved in our own sanctification.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Paul does a beautiful job here of showing how our works interact with God’s grace, but first we have to make sure that we are not misunderstanding him.
What sanctification is not:
some believe that salvation is both God’s work and ours in that God justifies us, but our sanctification is completely up to us. This is not true.
Sanctification is not a 50/50 work where we meet God halfway.
Sanctification is God’s work in us, where in giving us of his Holy Spirit he creates in us a desire and a motivation to become more holy through obedience to him.
Now, it is God who is working in us, yet it is we who are doing the works. It is not, as some suggest, a 50/50 effort, but a 100/100 effort in that both God and ourselves are at work simultaneously in sanctification.
Illustrate: It might be helpful to think about it this way: what are your favorite TV shows or movies? Is it the writer or the actors that brought that about? Without the writer, the actor would have nothing to say or do. Yet without the actor, the words are never said and the character is never brought to life.
So it is with sanctification: God gives us the desire and the motivation to do good works, and yet we are still responsible to do them.
David Brown: “Man is, in different senses, entirely active, and entirely passive: God producing all, and we acting all. What He produced is our own acts. It is not that God does some, and we the rest. God does all, and we do all. God is the only proper author, we the only proper actors.
So now, as with most theological truths, there are two extremes that we have to be aware of
That we can work out our salvation without God’s grace
Sometimes we are tempted to believe that our good works earn us God’s favor, but it isn’t so. All glory and credit goes to God, for he is the one who works in us and causes us to stand. Without him we are nothing, and so we owe him everything
that God’s grace acts alone and asks us to do nothing
But it isn’t as though God deserving all the credit means we shouldn’t do anything; quite the opposite! Because God has worked in us and has given us the will and power to shine as lights in the world, we should use this power to direct more glory to God! We need to use God’s gift that he so graciously gave us to glorify his name.
But maybe you’re frustrated at this point because you don’t feel the will or the desire that God promises to give us so that we can work out our own salvation. Which raises a good point: how do we get this gift? Does it just magically appear, and we have to wait until we wake up feeling it? Not at all, but Paul tells us where to look in verse 16: we must look to God who has revealed himself in his word. We must hold fast to the word of God, though which God gives us the will and the desire to grow in obedience to him.
A true understanding of sanctification doesn’t ignore God’s grace or our own responsibility to do good works but sees them both as necessary; sanctification does not exist where one is absent.
The Process Ought To Be Joyful
The Process Ought To Be Joyful
Understanding this brings us joy because we are empowered by God to obey him
which cleanses us from sin,
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
as we are continually sanctified, we see more and more victory over the sin which causes us so much despair and anxiety.
gives us full assurance of our salvation
but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
as the love of God is perfected in us, we can visibly see the power of God working in us through our way of life. This causes us to rejoice that God truly is at work in us and gives us full confidence that God truly is saving us.
and causes others to see the power and glory of God
Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
This life of obedience will be difficult at times, which Paul was well aware of; but it didn’t rob him of his joy in being sanctified. As others saw God’s work in Paul, more and more were coming to their own personal salvation, and in that Paul took immense joy. Even these Philippians were some of those who came to know Christ through Paul’s ministry! Paul invited us to partake in that same joy: even if it means being poured out as a drink offering for the sake of another’s faith, we shall rejoice at seeing God work in and through us.
And so as we are sanctified, we obey God in good works not with grumbling and complaining (verse 14) but with great rejoicing, always remembering that our salvation is a gift from God that empowers us to live for him.
Benediction:
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.