The Challenge Of Sharing Your Faith
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 8 viewsNotes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
I want to welcome you again this morning.
First, to those joining us online, we are so thankful for our online technology that allows you to be a part of our church family today.
I also want to welcome those who may be joining us for the first time today. I hope your time with us today is encouraging and helpful, and I look forward to meeting you.
I would also say if you are new to our church today, it would be helpful for you to know that we practice a form of preaching called “Expository Preaching”. What that means, is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking books of the Bible and then breaking them down from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. Our goal, to better understand not only what God’s Word says, but what it means in our lives today.
Over the past couple of years we’ve been doing that through the NT book of Acts. A book written by a First Century disciple named Luke who wrote it for a couple of reasons:
First, to give us a history of how the church started, who was there, and the circumstances that surrounded it.
Second, in a way, to give us a template on how to accomplish the mission that Jesus gave us to take the gospel to the entire world. With that said, if you haven’t been with us I would encourage you to go online to http://www.mcf.life or to our Facebook page where you can watch previous messages.
Today however we are picking back up in Acts 21 as the Apostle Paul concludes his missionary journey and returns home to the Jewish capital of Jerusalem.
You may recall this journey home for Paul began back in Acts 19 while Paul was in Ephesus. A journey that was initiated by the Holy Spirit as Paul felt God was calling him to go back to Jerusalem and then eventually to Rome, which would be the Gentile capital of Paul’s day.
And as we’ve learned, this journey to Jerusalem will not be a journey that ends well for Paul as along the way the Holy Spirit continually confirms that hardship lies ahead. Paul put it like this in Acts 20:
The Holy Spirit says that imprisonment and afflictions await him. However, regardless of the warnings, Paul knows this is the path that God has for him, and so without any hesitation he continues on to Jersualem knowing that even in hardship, God will use him to advance the Gospel. Which is where we pick up with Paul today as he enters Jerusalem.
However, before we get to what happens next, I’d like to take a moment and set the stage for the next several verses.
Because as Paul enters Jerusalem, where persecution and imprisonment await him, there will be a series of events that take place leading up to his arrest. Events that represent some of the challenges Christians will face when it comes to sharing their faith. Challenges that often lead to persecution and rejection.
So, what are those challenges? That’s what we are going to discover in the weeks to come as we walk through the streets of Jerusalem with Paul.
And so to get us started today, we are going to start with the first event and challenge that Paul faces. A challenge that we’ve talked about before in our study of Acts.
In fact, as I introduce this challenge, some of you are probably going to think, “Not this again pastor. Why do you keep brining this up?”
The truth is, it’s not met bringing it up. It’s the Bible. Which means, apparently this is something God knows will be a continual struggle and challenge for us when it comes to our faith.
So, what’s the challenge? I would state it like this.
When it comes to leading people to Jesus and living out our faith, we will always struggle with:
Challenge #1 - The challenge of overcoming religious thinking.
See, something we’ve talked about before, right?
And when I say religious thinking, I’m talking about the tendency for you and I to attach the requirement of a religious heritage, a religious identity, or a set of religious rituals and traditions to our faith in Jesus in order to be saved or be right with God.
In other words, when a person gives themselves to religious thinking, they believe in order to be saved, it requires more than faith in Jesus.
So, in order to figure out how this challenge plays out as Paul enters Jerusalem, I want to approach this passage form two different angles.
First, we’re going to take some time to walk through the passage and find out why Paul faced this challenge, how it was handled, and what the outcome was.
Second, after getting a grasp on the passage, we’re going to determine how Paul’s situation and what happened applies to us.
So, with that as our basis, let’s jump into the passage and find out why religious thinking was one of the first challenges Paul was confronted by as he entered Jerusalem. Picking up in verse 17 of chapter 21, Luke writes:
17 When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. 18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
What I want you to notice first, is that as Paul enters Jerusalem, Luke begins by setting the stage for everything that is about to happen to Paul. And he sets it by telling us the first thing that Paul does when he arrives in Jerusalem, which apparently was to go and find a man named James.
So, a great question would be, “Who is this James?”.
The James mentioned here is none other than one of the half brothers of Jesus, who after the death and resurrection of Jesus put his faith in Jesus and became a Christian.
But not only is he the half brother of Jesus, at this time, he’s also the head of the church in Jersualem.
We know this because back in Acts 15 a special council was held at the church in Jerusalem in order to determine how to handle Gentiles who had come to faith in Jesus.
You might recall Paul was present at that meeting where he shared how God had worked through him in leading many Gentiles to faith.
And because Gentile conversion was such a touchy subject among Jewish Christians, Paul’s testimony created a debate among the Jewish Christians. A debate concerning whether Gentile Christians needed to become Jewish in order to truly be saved.
As you might recall, Paul was instrumental in laying out the case, that while Jewish religious heritage is important, it’s not what saves a person. Paul put it like this in Acts 15:
10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”
Paul basically says, being Jewish has nothing to do with a person getting saved, and that the only thing that can save a person is faith in Jesus.
And as you can imagine, this was not a popular sentiment among many of the Jewish Christians. But after Paul spoke, a final judgment was made concerning the Gentiles. A judgment by a specific person. Which person? Luke records it like this:
13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me.
Luke says after the debate, James, the brother of Jesus spoke up to give his thoughts.
And in doing so he quotes a passage of scripture from Amos 9 where the profit declares that one day God will provide a way for all mankind to be restored into right relationship with God, including the Gentiles. And then after quoting the OT passage he said this:
19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.
In this passage James basically says, “Leave the Gentiles alone who have come to faith in Jesus. They don’t need to become Jewish to be saved. Their faith in Jesus is enough.”
However, while faith in Jesus is what saves them, he does add a few requirements concerning their behavior and actions. He says as Christians they need to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.
So, a great question would be, “If salvation comes by faith in Jesus, why does James add these stipulations?”
Two reasons:
First, while they aren’t requirements for salvation, they are mandates from God on what is acceptable and unacceptable moral conduct.
Mandates that come from the OT, and mandates that Paul himself would have encouraged the Gentiles to uphold. And honestly, they are no brainers.
The first is that Christians wouldn’t give themselves to anything that would have to do with idol worship or the worship of other Gods.
This is a clear commandment from God in the OT that applies across the board.
The second is that they would keep themselves from sexual immorality. What kind of sexual immorality?
The word for sexual immorality here is “porneia”, and it’s basically a junk drawer term for anything sexually immoral.
This would includes everything from premarital sex, adultery, pornography, homosexuality, lesbianism, and the like.
So again, something all Christians should keep themselves from whether Jew or Gentile.
The third is that they not eat anything strangled with blood still in it. In other words, that they drain the animal of its blood and cook it before they eat it.
So, that’s the first reason they give these requirements.
Secondly, they give these requirements because for a Jew to have fellowship with a Gentile, these are the bare minimum requirements. In other words, while they don’t need to become Jewish, they need to live in a way that is morally acceptable to God.
All that to say, when the question of Gentile conversion comes up in Acts 15, while there is much debate, James is the one who makes the final decision, which signifies that he’s the Lead Pastor of the church in Jerusalem.
So, that’s who James is.
Which leads us to another obvious question, which is, “Why does Paul go to them first?”
Two reasons:
First, because James is the Lead Pastor of the church in Jerusalem, by going to him first, Paul is putting himself under the authority of James. In other words, spiritually speaking, Jerusalem is James’ jurisdiction, and Paul is submitting too that.
Second, he goes to James first in order to report to him all that God had been doing outside of Jerusalem in the Gentile world. That’s why Luke writes:
19 After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
So, in a way this is a follow up report that stems back from chapter 15 where James gave Paul the green light to continue to reach Gentiles with the gospel.
So, how do James and the elders respond? Luke tells us, because he says:
“And when they heard it, they glorified God...” Acts 21:20a
Luke says as Paul shares what God has been doing through his ministry, James and the elders are elated and begin to praise and worship God.
So, at this point, everything seems to be going well. No snags so far.
But a snag is coming, because following Paul’s report, listen to what Luke says happens next:
“And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, ‘You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed...” Acts 21:20b
Apparently following Paul’s stellar report, James has some good news as well as he reports all the thousands of Jews who have come to faith in Jerusalem.
And that’s good news, right! That’s something to celebrate.
So, what’s the problem?
The problem comes with what James says next. Because after reporting that thousands of Jews have come to faith, listen to what he says next:
20 And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law,
Notice what he says. He says they are all zealous for the law...
So, what does that mean?
It means that along with their faith in Jesus, they are still holding tightly to their Jewish heritage, culture, and the OT law. And they’re not just holding on to it, they are zealous for it.
The word translated “zealous” here comes from the Greek word “zelotaes” and it’s the idea of being deeply committed or enthusiastic about something.
For example, if you’re a die hard Chiefs fan, you would be zealous for the Chiefs. Which means, there wouldn’t be much of anything that would or could detour you from being a Chiefs fan. That’s true, right?
Same thing here. The Jewish Christians aren’t just Christians, they are die hard Judaism fans. Which means along with faith in Jesus, they’ve attached Judaism to salvation.
Are you beginning to see the problem here?
You want to know who else sees it? James sees it. How do we know? We know because of what he says to Paul next. Because look at what James goes on to say to Paul:
21 and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.
Apparently as James tells Paul about how zealous the Jewish Christians are for Judaism, he goes on to tell him about a rumor that’s been going around about him. And the rumor is that Paul is teaching Jews to forsake Judaism. In fact, he’s going as far to tell Jewish parents who convert to not circumcise their children according to Jewish law and custom.
And apparently James is really concerned about the rumor, because he goes on to say:
22 What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.
James says, “Paul this is a big problem and it won’t be long before everybody hears that you’re back in town.”
In other words, once word gets out that Paul has returned to Jerusalem, these zealous Jews are going to come after Paul.
So, let’s stop for a moment and try and figure out what is going on here. Because based on what we’ve just learned, this leads to a couple of obvious question:
Question #1 - Why is James so concerned about this.
Well, obviously James is concerned because he knows how zealous these Jewish Christians are, and he’s afraid for Paul’s life.
In addition to that, while James agrees with Paul’s understanding of the gospel, James is walking the line of trying to disciple various types of Christians in Jerusalem, some of which have a wrong view of Christianity, namely these zealous Jewish Christians.
And so if he wants to maintain a relational influence with the Jewish Christians, he has to be careful how he handles this situation, or he could have a split within the church at Jerusalem.
This then leads to a second question:
Question #2 - Was Paul actually teaching Jews who converted to Christianity to forsake their Jewish heritage?
In other words, are the rumors about Paul true?
I would say the answer to that would be, “It depends on how you look at it”.
The truth is, Paul wasn’t telling Jews who put their faith in Jesus that they could no longer practice the ritualistic aspects of Judaism or that they shouldn’t follow the OT law.
Because obviously, God’s law applies in the NT just as much as it did in the OT. The difference now though is, when you become a Christian, God writes the law on your heart.
In other words, when you put your faith in Jesus, God’s Spirit enters you, and He begins to rewrite the way you think, act, and behave. The prophet Jeremiah puts it like this:
33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
The prophet says when the Messiah comes, God’s law will be transferred from paper to our hearts.
All that to say, Paul isn’t telling people to not obey God’s law. He’s all for God’s law.
However, Paul was teaching that in order to be saved, a person doesn’t need to be circumcised or be Jewish. He put it like this in Galatians 5:
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
In this passage Paul says whether you’re a circumcised Jew or an uncircumcised Gentile, it doesn’t matter, because that’s not what saves you. Why? Because the only thing that saves you is faith in Jesus.
In 1 Corinthians 7 he put it like this:
18 Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. 19 For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.
In this passage Paul once again downplays the need for ritualistic religous acts as he puts the focus on faith and faith alone in Jesus.
All that to say, while Paul isn’t telling Jews who become Christians to abandon their Jewish heritage, he is telling them their Jewish heritage has nothing to do with their ability to be saved. And that it is faith and faith alone in Jesus that makes a person right with God, whether you’re a Jew or Gentile.
That being said, you could see how the Jewish Christians, zealous for the law, might misinterpret Paul’s message. Because in their mind, Paul was dismissing the importance of one’s Jewishness when it came to salvation. Because for the zealous Jewish Christian, Judaism was a part of the package.
As a result, knowing this is a problem, this is what concerns James, which then leads James to tell Paul that they need to come up with a plan.
So, what’s the plan? Let’s find out, verse 23:
23 Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; 24 take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law.
Knowing Paul’s presence will create problems, and in order to satisfy the Zealous Jewish Christians, James comes up with a plan that he believes will demonstrate that Paul isn’t trying to detour Jews from Judaism. And the plan involves a few key aspects:
First, it involves Paul joining a group of four men who have taken what is called a Nazarite vow.
So, what’s a Nazarite vow?
It’s an OT vow found in Numbers 6 where a man or woman commits or dedicates a period of time to the Lord for spiritual purposes. It would be like when we do a 21 day fast or something like that.
However, during the Nazarite vow, the participant does more than change their diet.
First, they’re not to drink or eat anything from the vine. Which means they can’t drink wine or eat grapes.
Second, they were not allowed to cut their hair during the vow period. Which would mean no shaving, no haircut, and ladies, no coloring appointments.
Finally, during the vow period they were not allowed to go near a dead body, even if it was a close family member who died during their vow.
The vow then ends after a certain amount of days, typically a minimum of 30 days, as the person who made the vow goes to the temple where they shave their heads, the hair is put on the altar, and a sacrifice is made to the Lord that involved the sacrifice of a male and female lamb, a ram, and a drink offering. Which combined is a costly offering.
So, that’s the Nazarite vow. And apparently James knows of four men who had taken this vow and are about a week away from ending it. And his plan is to have Paul get involved with these men.
So, this leads to a couple of great questions:
Question #1 - Why does James think this will help Paul gain favor with the zealous Jewish Christians?
His hope is, when they see Paul involved in this very Jewish ceremonial vow, it will put them at ease concerning Paul.
In other words, Paul will appear to be upholding Jewish customs. Something they’ve been told he no longer does.
This then leads to a second question:
Question #2 - What does Paul’s involvement consist of?
It’s twofold:
First, Paul will join them in a ritualistic purification process, which was common for most Jews to do who had been outside of Jerusalem for a period of time. A religous purification process that typically took seven days.
Second, Paul will pay the Nazarite vow expense of the sacrifice for all 4 men. Which means, Paul would need to pay for 8 lambs, 4 rams, and 4 drink offerings, which would have been a considerable expense for Paul.
So, why does James want Paul to pay for it? He wants him to pay for it as a demonstration of his support for a very Jewish ritual.
I mean, what can these zealous Jewish Christians really say if Paul is participating in the ritual process and paying for the expenses of others. Shouldn’t this be evidence enough that Paul isn’t downplaying the law or Judaism?
Now, the truth is, if your Paul, at this point you might be wondering, “Why is James putting on this facade? I mean, he knows that it’s faith and faith alone in Jesus that saves a person, right?”
And the answer is yes he does, because anticipating this question, James goes on to say to Paul:
25 But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.”
After asking Paul to go through this process, James confirms that he hasn’t changed his view on the gospel or the gentiles. Because like Paul, James knows salvation only comes by faith in Jesus.
However, James is trying to keep the peace and not ruin his opportunity to lead these Jewish Christians who are zealous for the law into a right understanding of the gospel.
To be honest, James is caught between and rock and a hard place, and so he’s trying to appease two sides.
So, how does Paul respond to Jame’s proposal? Well, because Paul respects James and understand the challenge, he agrees to the plan. Because Luke goes on to write:
26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them.
Luke says Paul took the men, when through the purification process, paid for the sacrifices, and made the offerings on the appointed day.
The question now is, “Did it work? Did Jame’s plan detour the Jewish Christians who were zealous for the law from attacking Paul?”
Let’s find out:
27 When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”
The answer to that question is no, it did not detour them. In fact, as we’re going to see in the weeks to come, it led to an all out riot in this city that nearly led to Paul’s death and eventually led to his arrest by the Romans. But we’ll get to all of that later on.
For now, I want to spend the remainder of our time addressing our second angle. Because now that we know what happened, the next question we need to ask is:
Application Question - What does this mean for us?
In other words, based on the challenge Paul faced, how it was handled, and what it resulted in, how does this apply to our lives?
I’d like to suggest to you in that it applies in a couple specific ways when it comes to sharing and living out our faith in Jesus.
1. When leading people to Jesus, overcoming religous thinking will always be a continuous challenge.
This is something we have to come to terms with. Because the fact is, we face the same challenge today that Paul faced over 2000 years ago. The challenge to move people from religous thinking into a relationship with Jesus.
And the evidence of that can be seen all around us, especially in a community like Marysville where religous heritage and tradition run deep. Where for the most part, a large part of church goers in Marshall County have based their faith on a particular denomination, a certain church, a certain set of traditions, or a religious heritage.
Which is why if you were to ask most people in Marshall County what their religion is, instead of saying, “I’m a Christian” or “I’m a Christ follower”, they would say:
I’m a Catholic.
I’m a Lutheran
I’m a Methodist
I’m a Presbyterian
I’m a Baptist
I’m a Berean
I’m an Evangelical
I’m Church of Christ
I’m Episcopal
And the list goes on.
And the reason they would use one of those terms, is because that’s what they associate their faith with.
And along with the name association comes a list of traditions and rituals that have been attached to Jesus, and in some cases are required, in order for them to be saved or worthy of going too heaven when they die.
And this is exactly what the Jews in Jerusalem had done. Because along with faith in Jesus, they had attached the customs and rituals of Judaism to Jesus in order for a person to be saved.
Which is why most of them believed that along with faith in Jesus, Gentile believers needed to be circumcised and become Jewish.
But as we’ve learned through our study of Acts, outside of Jesus there is nothing that can save you. And that while rituals may serve as great reminders of what we believe, and while spiritual heritage can be of value when it comes to passing down our faith from one generation to another, rituals and tradition do nothing to save you or make you right with God.
That’s why Paul says in Galatians 5:
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
In Paul’s day, circumcision was the ritual Jews believed was necessary for a person to be saved. But Paul says, “Nope, Jewish identity does nothing to save you.”
Which means then, just because you’re a Lutheran, a Catholic, a Methodist, or a Presbyterian, is of no consequence when it comes to your salvation. Because the only thing that truly matters is one thing. Have you made Jesus Lord of your life? Have you put your faith in Him.
Paul puts it like this to the church in Ephesus:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Paul says salvation comes by faith and not by works or rituals.
But the fact is, this will be the constant tension we face when trying to lead people out of religious thinking and into relationship with Jesus. Because unfortunately the roots of religion run deep. For most people it has been in grained in them. It’s what they believe makes them right with God. It’s their religious identity. Which leads to a second application:
2. In order to lead people out of religous thinking, we have to meet them in their thinking.
The fact is, if we want to lead somebody out of religous thinking, we can’t come at them with our Bibles a blazing. Because if you do that, you’re going to push them away versus draw them in.
This is what James was attempting to do when he asked Paul to under go the Nazarite vow ceremony and pay for the sacrifices. His hope was that it would be an approach that possibly opened a door for Paul to have civil discussions with these zealous Jewish Christians.
What that means for us then, is when we interact with somebody who is given to religious thinking, we have to approach the truth strategically.
In other words, we can’t just pull out our Bibles and start blasting them. Instead, we have to be willing to meet them where they are at. Which is what Paul did. In fact, as long as it wasn’t sinful, Paul was willing to do whatever it took to reach somebody for Jesus. He puts it like this 1 Corinthians 9:
20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.
In this passage Paul says he did whatever it took to reach people. So, as he enters Jerusalem, while he’s not under the OT Covenant, he became as one under the OT Covenant in order to reach these zealous Jews and lead them to the truth.
What that means for us then, is when we encounter somebody with a religous mindset, that’s where we need to meet them, and then go from there as we work to lead them to the truth.
As we work to help them see that being Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian, or whatever isn’t what makes them right with God. As we work to show them what the Bible actually says. As we work to lead them to a transformational relationship with Jesus.
And the reality is, that may take some time. It may not happen overnight. And the truth is, you may never be able to lead them out of their religious thinking. Because as I said, religious roots run deep.
James and Paul quickly discovered that as their attempt to bridge the gap blew up in their face. As the zealous Jewish Christians couldn’t get past their religious zeal.
And the truth is, there will be some who are so zealous for their religous way of thinking, that they will see you as a threat. Maybe even as a betrayer. Which will lead to persecution.
Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about. Because since putting your faith in Jesus, you’ve experienced the push back.
You’ve been accused of betraying your Catholic roots.
You’ve been accused of forsaking your religous heritage.
Some of you have even been told you’re not going to go to heaven if you attend that church out by Taco Bell.
And that can be discouraging and in some cases heart breaking. It was for Paul. In fact, it so bothered Paul he wrote this in Romans 9:
3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
In this passage Paul basically says, “I’d give up my own salvation if my Jewish brothers and sisters would just believe”.
Which is why Paul was willing to endure the persecution. Why he was willing to go to Jerusalem. Why he was even willing to die.
Which means, if we truly want to lead people out of religous thinking, we need to be willing to endure the persecution and pain that may come with it.
That being the case, as we close this morning, I’d like to leave you with a couple of closing questions that I think we all need to consider when it comes to religious thinking and reaching people who are given to it.
Question #1 - Are you someone that is given to religous thinking?
In other words, like the zealous Jewish Christians, have you attached your faith to something else besides Jesus?
For example, in order to be saved, are you still holding on to a denominational or church tie? On being Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, or whatever your religious upbringing was?
Do you find yourself feeling like there’s more you need to do in order to be right with God? More you need to do in order to prove to God that you’re good enough?
What I’d like to challenge you to consider this morning, is that if you want to truly experience the new life Jesus has for you, then you need to abandon religious thinking, and you need to put your hope fully in Jesus and what He’s done for you. Because what he’s done for you is enough. The writer of Hebrews puts it like this:
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
The writer says, rituals and religous acts do nothing to save you. They don’t take away sins. So, what does?
He goes on to write:
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
The writer says one single offering has made it possible for you to be right with God. An offering that came when Jesus gave his life for you. And all you have to do in order to receive salvation is put your faith in Him.
Question #2 - If you are a person who would say you have put your faith in Jesus, would your lifestyle evidence that?
In other words, does the way you live reflect what you say you believe? Has there actually been a work of the Holy Spirit in you that has resulted in a changed life and a changed way of living?
I ask that question not to question your salvation, but to question if you truly understand what salvation is. That salvation isn’t just you saying you believe in God or Jesus or belong to a church, but that it’s you making Jesus Lord of your life. A decision that should result in a changed life.
James talks about this in James 2. He writes:
20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
In this passage, using Abraham as an example, James makes the case that faith in Jesus should result in a changed way of living. In other words, your faith should change your actions and behaviors. And that if a persons life doesn’t reflect that, then their faith in Jesus isn’t legitimate.
In other words, if after you say you’ve put your faith in Jesus you’re still living like the world, then Houston we have a problem.
So, let me ask you, has your faith in Jesus resulted in a changed life and way of living? Does your lifestyle reflect a new life in Christ? Has the old you truly died and has the new been born.
And if not, maybe it’s time to reevaluate what salvation is. Maybe it’s time to not just say you believe in Jesus, but to actually make Him Lord of your life.
Question #3 - Are you facing persecution for putting your faith in Jesus, and how are you handling it?
The truth is, some of you have recently walked out of religious thinking and into faith in Jesus. Which means, in a community like we live in, you’ve probably experienced some backlash.
That being the case, how are you handling that? How are you explaining your new faith to friends and family that may not understand or agree with your decision?
Are you meeting them where they are at? Are you trying to find ways to identify with them in order to open a door of opportunity?
You might say, “Pastor, how do you do that?”
A few suggestions -
It begins as you pray for those moments of interaction. As you ask God to go before you for those conversations.
As you ask God to give you the words to say. To give you wisdom. To give you patience. To give you supernatural insight.
It continues as you look for ways identify with where they are at spiritually.
For example, focus on something you can most likely agree on. For instance, who Jesus is. Or the love of God. Something basic.
You might also be able to relate on the importance of going to church.
The point is, begin by looking more for ways you relate than you disagree.
From there, it deepens as instead of sharing scripture, you share what God has done in your life. What a relationship with Jesus has meant in your life. How Jesus has changed your life.
Why that focus? Because nobody can dismiss your testimony. They can’t say, “That didn’t happen to you.”
Finally, you begin to share what the Bible says. You begin to show them what tradition, rituals, and denominational association hasn’t revealed to them.
And the hope is, that as you identify with where they are at, as you share what Jesus has done in your life, and then as you begin to show them what God’s Word actually says, you will begin to ease them away from religious thinking and into a relationship with Jesus.
The truth is, in this particular moment, it didn’t work out as well as James had hoped. However, in the events to come, it is going to open the door for Paul to present the gospel in a significant way.
Because at the end of the day, regardless of the pushback we get, that’s our objective. To share the truth with people who don’t have a relationship with Jesus.
That being said, where do you fall on this spectrum? Are you the person hanging onto religous thinking? Are you the one who claims faith but your lifestyle doesn’t match up? Or, are you the one who has embraced your faith, but you’re now facing the backlash that comes with it?
My challenge to you this morning, is that regardless of where you are at, that you would be willing to take the next step forward.
If you’re holding onto religious thinking, that you would begin to recognize your need for a relationship with Jesus.
If you’re claiming faith, but you’re living like the world, that you would repent and revisit your faith.
And that if you’re facing backlash for your faith, that you continue to lovingly and strategically move forward trusting that God will not only protect you, but He will open up doors of opportunity for you.
Let’s Pray
The challenge of overcoming false assumptions and accusations.
The challenge of convincing people of the truth.