50-years of Lessons on Grace, Faith and Works (Part 2)

Well, thank you again, Alan, and happy Sabbath, once again, to all of you. In this sermon today, I would like to continue to share with you some of the major life lessons about faith and God and His Church that I've learned over the past 50 years since I walked into a door at the old Berea High School on November 13, 1971. So, do you hear some of the things we covered last time in case you're listening to this sermon and haven't heard part one? Some of the things we discussed last time, Paul was humble enough to say and admit that he didn't know everything. He was humble enough to admit that there are spiritual things he saw dimly. Are we humble enough to admit that? Because it takes humility to hang in there over a long period of time. It says, God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. So, that's one of the things we talked about. Something else we mentioned is the church that Christ built is a spiritual body led or guided by the Spirit of God. It's never been a human-created organization. It has never been limited to an organizational name, meaning all the people that are members of some organization, no matter what organizational name that may be. Those are human constructs. There are other individuals in other organizations who are also part of the spiritual body of Jesus Christ. As I said last time, obviously there are people within the United Church of God, evident by their fruits and their growth, that they do have the Spirit of God, and they are part of that spiritual body. That is also true of people who attend other fellowships. Where they are and who they are is none of our concern. It's our job to preach the gospel and to fulfill the commission that Jesus gave to us and taught us.

It's my personal responsibility to be obedient, to love the Sabbath in the holy days. That's my job. My job is not to judge and criticize those who may do some things differently than I do.

I've got a job to do, and they're going to do what they desire to do. It's not our job to judge them or determine whom God is working with or not. God works in ways and with individuals we don't even know about, and he doesn't see a need to ask for our permission ahead of time. We also discussed that Paul included the teachings and life of Jesus Christ as an additional part of the gospel message.

He said he taught, this is in Acts chapter 20 and verse 30, the things that concern Jesus Christ when he also spoke about the gospel. We discussed that fully walk God's way of life includes a number of important things, but we should never, ever put anything before the core of our faith, and the core of our faith should be Jesus Christ. Only when we have the right foundation will God's way of life bear fruit in us. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 11, no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. So any other foundation, a fascination with any topic, an idea, a particular doctrine, anything that we allow that to become our foundation will in time crumble when the spiritual storms hit it and come upon it. Our foundation has to be Jesus Christ.

Well, today I'd like to discuss my slow discovery of a much richer and deeper understanding of God's grace, which is something, frankly, 50 years ago the church didn't talk about much. And to be open and frank with you, the church didn't understand anywhere near the degree that it does today.

And this will include a discussion of faith and the essential importance of obedience and good works and how they all tie together. So let's begin with John chapter 1 and verse 14.

If you will kindly turn there with me. John chapter 1 and verse 14.

Here is what John writes, speaking of Jesus Christ as the Word, the pre-existent Christ, the one who existed from eternity alongside the Father. And the Word became flesh and dwelled among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace.

And truth. John bore witness of him and cried out, saying, This was he of whom I said, he who comes after me is preferred before me, for he was before me.

John acknowledged that the Word, who became Jesus Christ, eternally existed, was there from the very beginning of time. So that obviously was before John the Baptist came on the scene. Verse 16.

And of his fullness we have all received, and grace for grace, we'll talk about that in a minute, for the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God, that is the Father, at any time the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him. But as I emphasized last week, if you want to know the Father, there's really only one way to know him. Because aside from a few brief appearances, mentions of him of any old covenant and a few in the New Testament, the New Covenant, we know literally nothing about the Father except through some very brief appearances, where he's obviously mentioned with Jesus Christ. So if we want to know who and what the Father is like, we have a source, the same source who said, I and the Father are one.

And that source is Jesus Christ. The reason we have four Gospels, four different versions or slants on the life of Jesus Christ provided for us in the New Testament. So that's very important to understand. No one has seen God, the Father. Jesus declared him. And if we want to know what God the Father is like, we need to get to know what Jesus Christ is like.

So let's get back to the topic here. What exactly is grace? Grace is one of the most wonderful gifts that God can give us. It goes far beyond just the forgiveness of sin, which is one of the definitions I've heard. It's his divine favor and love for us. It's also far more than simply undeserved pardon. Now when I first came into the church, that was the phrase, if you asked someone what grace was, the response would have been, it's undeserved pardon. And though that's not false, it is extremely limited in the understanding and totality of what God's grace is.

Grace is God's ongoing and continual outpouring of love toward us. It's not a one-time event.

It's far richer and far deeper than forgiveness or simply being pardoned. It is part of having a relationship with God. This includes receiving spiritual knowledge. That's God's grace.

Understanding his glory and receiving some of that glory because we enter into sonship with him.

That is due to God's grace. Receiving his wisdom. Virtually everything we could imagine that is good.

All of these are part of God's grace. Now the phrase that John uses in here, he says, Verse 16, for of his fullness we have all received and grace for grace. What does John mean by this?

Well, God's grace is progressive. It's his limitless love and it starts with the Father calling us.

That's God's grace. We're going through life, living our own way, and suddenly through interaction with another person or we see a TV program or in my case a radio program or it may be a piece of literature. God begins to call us. That's his grace. Then he removes the blinders from our eyes.

That's from grace to grace. That's another level of grace. Then we desire baptism. When repentance, as Matt spoke about in a fine sermon today, that's part of God's grace. Then we are baptized and receive God's Holy Spirit. That's part of God's grace and it goes on and on from there. Ongoing stages of blessings, both physical and spiritual, from God because we have his favor.

Jesus Christ brought the grace of God to those who accept him as Savior, and that includes you and I.

And what a wonderful free gift. We can't earn it. We don't deserve it. But we receive it because God just loves us so much. Even when we were sinners, even after we had rejected him and we had no interest in God, he still loved us deeply and began the process of grace to grace by the Father calling us. Now, John uses another phrase here that confuses a lot of people. They look at this negatively. It says, for the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. So because they read that, they put down the law or they put down Moses. And they say, Lo, see, this was old. This was obsolete, and it's been replaced by something better. Well, actually, the truth is that God's law is also an act of grace. God's law teaches us the values that God has and provides instruction on how we should live, how we can be happier, how our lives can be more abundant. God reveals that to us through his law. That is part of his grace. But, unfortunately, we are carnal and we're sinners, and we are condemned because we violate that law, the law that Moses gave us. And grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. The grace is God's favor and forgiveness that we don't deserve, and the truth is the knowledge of the law that we've broken and the fact that a price has been paid because we don't live up to the values of that law.

John is not condemning God's law. He's not degrading it in these verses at all. He's stating that Moses gave the law and by breaking it we are condemned. On the other hand, the encouraging news is that the Word brought God's forgiveness from sin and favor to us as an undeserved gift. That's part of what God's grace is. So with that in mind, let's now go to Romans chapter 5 and verse 12. See something that Paul wrote here. We looked at John's writing, so let's take a look at something that Paul says here. And oftentimes this confuses a lot of people, the way Paul wrote, some of the things that he says on the surface if you don't dig deep into them.

Maybe a little bit confusing, but we'll try to go through that and make sure we all grasp exactly what Paul is saying here. Again, this is Romans chapter 5 and verse 12.

He is contrasting the first man, Adam, who brought sin in the world with another man, capital M, Jesus Christ, who was first. He was the firstborn of God's spiritual creation.

Adam was the first physical son that he had of the physical creation. So he's drawing that contrast, that metaphor, between the two. So let's pick it up here in verse 12. Therefore, just as through one man, speaking of Adam, sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned. So Adam was the first. He was carnal. He was fleshly. He sinned by disobeying the instructions of his father by taking something that didn't belong to him, which was that fruit on the tree of life. And all humanity has been sinning ever since, and maybe in different ways. We'll read about that in a minute. But we have all sinned. We have all violated God's law. Verse 13, for until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Now that's one of the things that Paul says that confuses a lot of people. You mean there was no sin until Moses revealed the law? That's not what Paul's saying. As a matter of fact, in verse 14, he says, nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses. Right? So there was sin between Adam and Moses. People still died. They died because they broke God's law. So what does he mean here? Well, what he says and what he means is that sin is not charged as a specific violation of a particular command when there is no law. It's just generically called sin. You wouldn't know that coveting is sin since it's up here. It's unlike the other commandments. It's not outgoing, physical, something you do. Coveting is all up here. It's within our heads. It's our desires and our attitude and our spirit. We wouldn't specifically know that that is sin unless we read something that said, thou shalt not covet. Right? And it's the same as true with the other commandments. So that's what Paul means when he makes that statement. Verse 14, nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam. In other words, death occurred to people who had other forms of sin.

Adam was disobedient. He took something that didn't belong to himself. Other people die because they commit adultery, because they steal things as well. They lie. They have false gods. They covet.

So there are many other things beyond the transgression of Adam that are also sin that result in death. So continuing here, to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of him who was to come. Remember, there are contrasts that Paul is drawing here.

Both were first. Adam was the first physical son of God. Jesus Christ was the first spiritual born, through his resurrection, son of God. The first of many, I might add. Verse 15, but the free gift, that's grace, is not like the offense, for if by one man's offense many died, that is through Adam's sin, he started the example, he started the ball rolling for all of us as humanity, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, capital M.

So Adam started negative things. He created sin. Jesus Christ, in the other hand, brought grace and brought an opportunity for that sin, which condemns us to be forgiven and for us to have a relationship with God. By the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ abounded too many. Verse 16, and the gift, again, still speaking of grace, is not like that which came through the one who sinned, for the judgment came from one offense resulted in condemnation. So you could say that the gift of sin, it's kind of a gift that keeps on giving, it's condemnation. On the other hand, he says, but the free gift which came by the many offenses resulted in justification. So even though there were all of these sins going on, all of this period of time, and sins still continue today, unlike the gift of death, which is what Adam brought us, the gift of condemnation by breaking God's law, Jesus Christ gives us the gift of grace. That is God's favor, his forgiveness, his ongoing total love throughout the rest of our existence, throughout the rest of our lives.

So now let's pick it up here in verse 18. Therefore, as through one man's offense, Adam's judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation. Even so, through one man's righteous act, that's Jesus Christ, the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.

So in contrast, Adam brought death, the grace of Jesus Christ brings life. Verse 19, for, as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. So what does Paul mean by that phrase? That's also another phrase that confuses a lot of people here in verse 20, that offense might abound. But when the law of God was written down, it provided a discovery of many ways that we specifically sin, including our thoughts, our words, our actions, and these specific sins were revealed more clearly. When they're written down, I gave an example earlier, most people would not realize that coveting is a sin, because it's up here. The other commandments are physically oriented. There are things that you do, things that you commit, acts that you commit, but the 10th commandment is up here. It's our attitude. Boy, that person's got a big home, got a new car, I wish I had that new car, I wish I had that big home. It's mental, spiritual, so it's different. And we would normally only understand that that too is a sin, because it's been written down as part of God's 10 commandments. So it's a discovery when they were written down, or the many ways that we sin through our thoughts and our words and our actions, and these specific sins are revealed more clearly. That's what he means by the phrase, offense might abound, and meaning it became more evident, became clearer, just what sin is, just exactly what types of sins are being committed. But the good news is that God's grace is far more abundant and powerful than human sin. Verse 21, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let's continue here now in the chapter 6, verse 1. As you know, I'm sure you know most originally when the Bible was put together, it didn't have chapters. It stopped, didn't have chapters and verses, so it didn't stop in the middle of a thought and cut it off. But with the introduction of chapters, sometimes that happens. What shall we say then, Paul says here in verse 1, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! Paul's already knowing human nature, knowing how human beings think, and that is, wow, if I just sin greater, then that gives God the opportunity and the blessing to give me more grace. Paul is saying, I'm sorry, that's not the way that it works.

How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? When you say you're going to make a change, when you become a new creature or new being, you can't live the way that you used to. You have to change something, Paul is saying, again relating to our sermonette today, verse 3. Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, or Christ Jesus, were baptized into his death? Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism and death, and just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in the newness of life.

Not continuing to wallow in sin and decadence, dysfunction, but we are to come out of that baptismal tank. Jesus Christ was raised, a spirit being, sinless, pure, and we want to model that.

When we came out of that baptismal tank, that's at least the attitude and the motive that we want to have as we enter newness of life. So Paul is using a beautiful metaphor here to show why we continue to live a godly life by rejecting sin. Jesus died a perfect sinless human being. He was resurrected and transformed as spirit, inhabiting eternal life. And in a similar way, we were symbolically buried with Christ at our baptism as we went under the water. We were put under the water. When we came out of the water, we should have had a dedication to live a new life, being like he is. And that doesn't leave room for addictions and a lifestyle of sin or perversion or dysfunction. There's no room in the Christian life for those kinds of things. We came out of that baptismal tank, hopefully dedicated to be a new being like Jesus Christ is. He is perfect and he is sinless. And that is the goal. That is ultimately what we strive for. And I realize that's a process. It's not something that happens overnight. But when we fall short, we're made righteous by the obedience of Jesus Christ, and his grace sustains us as we change and we grow, because we are human and we do stumble and we do sin. But there's a difference between that and continuing to immerse ourselves in a lifestyle, in an ongoing lifestyle of sin or decadence or something that is offensive to God, frankly, which sin is. Let's take a look at verse 19.

Go back to verse 19 and just read that quickly here. It says, for as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous. So even though we're converted and we have God's Spirit, we do stumble and fall. We do make mistakes.

But as we make those mistakes, it's the righteousness of Jesus Christ that keeps us within a relationship with God, that keeps us close to God. Verse 21 says something very similar to that. So sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So growth, spiritual growth, is a process. Jesus did say in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 48, therefore you shall be perfect just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

That's the goal, and it's a tough one, and it's something that we will not attain to until we are spirit beings, until Jesus Christ returns in the twinkling of an eye. We are changed from mortal to immortal. It's something we will always struggle with. The Greek words here in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 48 imply a gradual development and a growth into a maturity of godliness. So our walk into the newness of life is a maturing process. Yeah, we make mistakes. We maybe believe things that are not true, and as the years go by, if we're humble, if our minds are open, if we're staying close to God, He in His compassionate way will reveal to us the error in our thinking, in our attitudes, in our perspectives, as long as we remain humble and stay close to Him.

Again, when we're proud, when we think we know it all, when we think we have all the answers, that's the real problem. Because we can no longer learn anything new if we think we know it all, if we think we have all of the answers. A common biblical word that's related to this, oftentimes in the same sentences that Paul and others use, along with the word grace, is faith.

So I'd like to spend a few minutes discussing faith. Let's discuss a little bit about what I learned regarding faith over the last 50 years, and I hope some of the things can help you. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1, called the faith chapter, something that many of us have read for a period of time over the years, Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1. Discussion of faith. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 1, now faith, the Greek word pistis, pistis, is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, for by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so the things which are seen were not made by things which are visible. So the invisible creative God, the spirit, created the earth. We know it's not the response of biological happenings like evolution by a lightning strike hitting a pond of scum, and somehow that sparked it to change into something else, and it's been changing ever since to what we see in the world today. In the New Testament, the Greek word primarily translated faith is the English word pistis, and it means trust, having confidence and being fully persuaded to the point of commitment.

So it's a very powerful word, and it's used here, obviously, in Hebrews chapter 11. Paul tells us that faith is the possession of spiritual evidence that something is real, even if we can't see it, feel it, touch it, taste it, hear it, or smell it. You know what? If you can taste it, I don't need to have faith that there's a glass of water up here, because the glass is cold.

The water feels good on my tongue. My senses know that there's a glass of water. That doesn't require faith. Faith is required in believing something in which none of your senses register its existence. None of your senses register the truth of that thought, that idea, that belief about God, or that particular doctrine. So Paul is telling us here that faith is the possession of spiritual evidence that something is real, even if we can't test it with any of our senses. It's an assurance that God is ultimately in control of all events, and that everything happens for a purpose, even if we don't understand it.

If we don't grasp it, if we don't know why, if we ask God why, we don't get a response. Faith means understanding that God has a purpose far beyond what we can detect and know and understand in this physical life. The core ingredient of faith is the belief that the guiding hand of the Creator is involved in the entire universe, and everything is happening for a reason and for a purpose, including our lives. When he answers our prayers, it's for a purpose. When God chooses not to answer our prayers, that's also for a purpose.

So faith means that we're going to believe and trust in God, and we are going to be fully persuaded and committed to His existence and the truth that He reveals to us whether He answers our prayers or not, whether things go our way, or whether we enter a difficult trial. Our faith is stronger than any of those physical thoughts or elements that we have.

Let's continue now. I'm going to read verses 1 through 4 from the New Century version. Here's what it says. Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it. Verse 2, again from the same translation, faith is the reason we remember great people who lived in the past. It is by faith that we understand that the whole world was made by God's command so that what we see was made by something that cannot be seen.

So the point is that faith comes before we possess something. We have to have faith first before we receive it. It precedes the actual receiving of anything that we ask for.

Spiritually, it's the evidence that we will receive something before it ever happens. It's a spiritual quality that has nothing to do with any of the five physical senses. It's a positive expectation that God has heard our request and will choose to intervene by the power of the Holy Spirit when he knows the time is right. And I have learned from personal experience that God's timing is a lot different than my carnal human timing. I usually make it very simple for God. Now, right? But God says, oh no, no, no, no, no. You haven't learned enough yet. You obviously haven't gotten the point yet. Whoa, Nellie! I'll let you know when the time is right. So God's timing is certainly different than our timing. Verse 6, but without faith it is impossible to please him for he who comes to God must believe that he is. So the whole core of one's faith all starts. And that's why years ago, one of our first elementary booklets was, does God exist?

Because if you don't understand and accept that, nothing else has any meaning. Why would this book be of any value to you if you don't believe there's a God who is behind it, who exists, who inspired these writings? And it would just be a book of myths. So it all begins with a belief that he is. Can't sense God with any of your senses. It takes pure faith to believe to the point of commitment to doing something about it, that there is a creator God, that he has a purpose and a plan that he's working out here on earth throughout the universe, actually. And he also has a plan for your life. For he comes to God must believe that he is, and he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. So God gives favor to those who desire to know him, who live lives of righteousness as much as they can, who repent when they fall short, and want to be disciples of Jesus Christ and live their lives to follow God. He rewards people who make that effort and are willing to do that. So faith is an essential part of our relationship with God. There are different ways faith is used, either as a verb or a noun, in the New Testament. So let's just take a look at, quickly I'll read what the three ways are. If we want to please our Father and have a productive relationship with him, we have to learn to let go of our carnality, of our skepticism about God and his promises. We have to learn to trust him for all of our needs with faith and with confidence.

In the New Testament, the word faith is typically used to describe an individual spiritual characteristic that we possess as part of the confidence and assurance that God is involved in our life. So that's one way that it's used in the New Testament. Another way that it's used is the term the faith, and that's often used to describe the entire belief system, including the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died so that our sins could be forgiven. That Greek word then is in a plural form as a verb. It's pistaouo. Instead of pistis, it's pistaouo. It's used as a verb. The third way, our terms faithful and faithfulness, are used to describe the continuing and ongoing demonstration of faith in our lives. So with our phrases about the faithful in chapter 11, the faithful, those who themselves, by their example, showed continuing and ongoing demonstration of faith throughout a long period of time. Remember, I thought about the life of Jesus Christ. Everything Christ did, every miracle that he performed, was done literally by his faith. Physically speaking, Jesus looked like any man with the same limitations that we all have as human beings. By all appearance, he was subject to the physical laws of the universe.

If he twisted his ankle, he would say, ouch! How do I know that? Because when he was touched with sympathy, when he walked into the tomb or near the tomb of his friend Lazarus, and he saw everybody weeping, and he says, Jesus wept. His heart was touched. People were grieving over someone that they loved. When nails were driven to his body, he felt the same pain that you and I would feel.

When nails were driven through his hands and his feet, and his side was stabbed. Yet, every day of his existence on earth as a physical being, he transcended those physical limitations because of the faith that he possessed. That's how powerful faith is in this world. Mark chapter 1 and verse 14. Mark chapter 1 and verse 14. Mark chapter 1 and verse 14. Now, after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe. That's the verb, pistao.

Same word used for faith throughout the rest of the New Testament.

Repent and have faith in this message. So much that you're willing to make a commitment to it.

Have faith that there is a God and that he cares about this universe. That he's a God that knows what happened in the past. He's a God of the present and he's a God who can also change the future. And he is promising you right now in this message that he's bringing a kingdom to this earth, a perfect kingdom in which everyone will be able to reach their full potential. We call it the kingdom of God. This exactly is the message that Jesus is preaching. Have faith. Have that confidence.

Often in the New Testament, the English words believe and belief come from this same Greek word that I mentioned earlier, pista. So beginning with the good news of the coming kingdom of God means having faith that the message is true and faith that God's promises about the future are absolutely positively sure and that are going to happen and live your life like you know they're sure and they're positively going to happen. Let's go to Philippians chapter 3 and verse 1.

Philippians chapter 3 and verse 1 as we continue to talk about faith.

Paul writes here to the congregation Philippi, Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. Paul knew that the way that we learn is through spaced repetition.

So if Mr. Thomas repeats the same thing over and over again, it's one of two reasons. Number one, he's getting old and he's losing his mind. Or number two, he believes in the principle of spaced repetition and he knows if we hear the same concept again and again eventually that barrier will be removed and it'll be able to go into our subconscious. And this is what Paul's doing here. Beware of dogs, those are unclean human beings who unfortunately live unrighteous lives. This is what he means. Beware of evil workers. Beware of the mutilation. Beware of those who say that you have to be circumcised to be saved. You know, this issue followed Paul around.

It was like the gift that keeps on giving. Everywhere Paul went, he had to address this idea that circumcision was a requirement for salvation. So by the time you read, you get to the book of Galatians, he's had it. He can't take it anymore. He's tired of talking about that issue.

All right, verse three. For we are the circumcision, here we are, who worship God in spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. He says, here are the real people who are circumcised. This is circumcised. Our hearts are circumcised. That's something male and female can do. It includes everyone because there's equality in calling and salvation in the new covenant.

So Paul says, this is what real circumcision is. Though I also might have confidence in the flesh, he's, you want to brag about being important and having a good lineage? Paul says, okay, I'll play that game. If anyone thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I'm going to one-up you.

He says, here we go. Circumcised the eighth day. Paul says, I am circumcised according to the law of Moses. Of the stock of Israel, a direct descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin, one of the original 12 tribes of Israel. A Hebrew of the Hebrews. I mean, like, 100% Hebrew. No Gentile lineage slipping in there in the back door. I'm the Hebrew of the Hebrews.

Concerning the law of Pharisee, I meticulously kept the law. Concerning zeal, persecuting the church. Concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. You want to talk about someone who has zeal? I even persecuted the church of God, he says. And concerning the righteousness that is in the law, human righteousness, obeying the physical demands of the law, Paul says, I was blameless. I nailed it. Verse 7, but what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. I believe Matt also read at least this verse in his sermon as well. Verse 8, Yet I indeed count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, in whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ. Paul says the fact that I have a great, I had a great reputation among the Pharisees when I was a Pharisee and a learned man, highly educated, highly respected, means nothing. I gave it all up. Verse 5, And be found in him, and not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, that's what human beings seek to do, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. So again, even though we sin, even though we make mistakes, it's that righteousness which is from God that makes up for our own weaknesses as we change and grow and as we strive to become perfect, like our Father is perfect in heaven, we repent as we recognize and understand our sins, and it's the righteousness which is from God that keeps us close to God, keeps us part of his family. And that's all possible by our belief, by our faith. So there is a God that his promises are sure, and we're going to live because we believe that so deeply. We're going to live like that because we believe that so powerfully and so deeply. So we're not talking about our own righteousness by anything we can do.

All the right intentions and all the good works in the world can't make us righteousness. Our own righteousness is shallow and temporary. What I found out in the past 50 years is usually people who want to come across as so righteous usually have a deeply embedded sin somewhere else that they're pretty good at hiding. There's a scriptural terminology for that. It's called being a hypocrite.

So our own righteousness means absolutely nothing, and Paul said that about the righteousness of the Pharisees. They bragged about the fact that they were so good at keeping God's law. Paul says that means absolutely nothing. It's shallow. It's temporary. Eventually you're going to sin. So what good is all that law keeping going to do for you? Only a righteousness that comes as a gift from God can make you and I righteous in his sight. The scriptures that we've just read here are just very plain about what makes us righteous, what our faith is, and the fact that we are justified by faith. Salvation is a gift from God. We can't earn it by good works. We don't deserve salvation.

We receive it by faith in Jesus Christ. Let's go to James chapter 2 and verse 17.

You can't talk about faith unless you talk about the other side of the coin, and that is works. And many people, unfortunately, look as if faith and works are in competition with one another. You either have faith, which makes you a good Christian, or you have works.

You keep the Sabbath and Holy Days and believe in the Ten Commandments. They believe it's either or, and it's not either or. The truth is the fact that our faith, if it's a living biblical faith, will have obvious fruits. A byproduct of that faith will be good works.

James chapter 2 and verse 17. He says, Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. You can't get too much clearer than that phrase. You say you have faith, and there's no fruit. There's nothing to prove or be evident of the fact that you have faith. It's dead. It's a dead faith. Verse 18, But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Again, that's that competitive attitude. It's one or the other. You can't have both. You have faith, and I have works.

Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. So James is saying here, By the things that I do, I will show and demonstrate to you my living faith, because it's a byproduct of it. It's like if you have a healthy tree, that healthy tree has fruit. You have to expect it. That's what it was designed for, and that's how faith and works work together. Verse 19, he says, You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble. And James uses the Greek word pesteo, the same word for faith. He says, Oh, you say that you have faith?

Big deal! The demons have faith like you do, and they tremble. And in the future, they have a reward that's not going to be very pretty. Right? He says, So that doesn't mean anything. You're telling me you have faith. That doesn't mean anything at all. Verse 20, But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? He's going to give us an example. Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works and by works, faith was made perfect? So what if Abraham would have said, Okay, God, I have faith. I'm just not going to take my son to Mount Moriah. I'm sorry. That's a work.

I believe in faith, God. So I'm just going to have happy thoughts. And I'm not going to take wood, and we're not going to take a three-day journey, and I'm not going to attempt to sacrifice. Why? Because all those are works. All those are actions. But he did all of those actions because he wanted to demonstrate his faith. And he actually believed that God would resurrect his son from the dead if he had to kill him, because he told his servants before he left that, I and the lad will return to you. So he had faith, but he also did what God told him to do. And that's the whole point that James is bringing out here. Verse 23. And the scripture was fulfilled, which says, Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. Verse 24.

So you see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only. Now he's not putting down faith. What he is putting down is the concept that I only need to have faith and I don't need to have any fruits, any good works, anything to demonstrate my living faith in action. This is what James is condemning. He's not putting down the concept of faith. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and she sent them out another way?

That was a good work. That was physical. Fly down this window, escape before they come and catch you.

Verse 26. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

So faith is not real living in act of faith if it lacks fruits or good works. If you have biblical faith, you can't help but to have obvious fruits and good works in your life that other people can see. Not that we should do it so that other people can see, but it should be so evident and so obvious as a byproduct of the way of life that we live. So faith is not real living in act of faith.

Again, if it lacks fruits or good works, it's only a spoken declaration. It's really that simple. Paul and James agree. Good works don't save us. The works that we do don't make us superior or better than anyone else. The works don't make us righteous, but good works are evidence of our sincere faith.

James is discussing an essential ingredient of faith, the kind of faith that results in salvation. And his answer is that mature faith always produces good and positive works as a natural result or byproduct of that faith. The Bible does not teach a person is ever saved by a profession of faith. Works don't save us, cannot ever save us, but works are the living evidence of our faith. About 100 years ago, there was a German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and he coined a phrase that we don't use in the church for good reason because it's a phrase not found in Scripture, but he coined a phrase, cheap faith, that caught on in much of the Protestant community. And what he meant by cheap faith was those people who became Christians because they wanted all the benefits.

They wanted salvation. They wanted fellowship with other people. But on the other hand, they didn't want to make any sacrifices. They didn't want to be disciplined. They didn't want to observe God's law. They didn't want to believe in church discipline or doctrines. So he said those people demonstrated a cheap faith. Superficial. It's all, I want all the goodies that come with Christianity, but I don't want to make any of the sacrifices. And again, that's not a phrase that we use, but I think it's still a good point and something for us to ponder. Works are not the grounds for our justification before God, but if they're not present, there is no living faith. And it's a good question we should ask ourselves today, and that is, can people see living faith in my life by my conduct, by the way that I treat other people, by my lifestyle, by my works and my fruits, my good works towards helping those who are in need and we're struggling, who are lonely and need a card or a phone call? Is my living faith obvious and evident to the people that I meet? One reason we diligently seek to obey God is not because we believe we're saved by good works, but because we seek to glorify our Father who offers us sonship in His family. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 16, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Let's go to Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 1 and see one of the reasons why we are so eager to do good works. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 1. Paul encouraging the congregation here at Ephesus, and you he made alive. He made you new creatures. He gave you purpose. He gave you a mission who were dead in trespasses and sins. Before you were called, you were the walking dead.

Now God made you alive with a new purpose for your existence. It's what Paul is saying. Verse 2, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, allusion to Satan, the Spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. And were, I want you to notice two times now, he has said that that's in the past.

It should be in the past. He doesn't say we are these things. He says we were this way and were by nature children of wrath, just as others. But God, who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive and we were saved. Jesus made us alive together with Christ by grace. You have been saved. We were chosen. We were called not because we're superior, smarter, better than anyone else. It's because God chose us out of his great love. Not a one-time event, but grace to grace. He's raised us together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Jesus Christ or in Christ Jesus. That means our reward is with Jesus Christ and he's bringing our reward with him when he returns to earth. Verse 7, that in the ages to come, in other words, for all eternity, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. So God's grace isn't going to stop at the return of Jesus Christ when we're changed from mortal to immortal. His grace is going to be shed on us for all eternity because of his great and his magnificent love. Verse 8, for by grace you have been saved through faith. It all starts with that faith, that faith of being drawn to God when we're called, saying, I'm listening, God, I want to learn more. And the next grace is wanting to be baptized and then wanting to be converted by receiving the Holy Spirit. We can go on and on and on from there.

God's grace is throughout eternity. For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is a gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast for we are his workmanship.

So Paul talked about what we were and it wasn't pleasant. We were living a little better than animals like the world. But now, as a new creature, we have a new purpose. We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for abundant faith. No, for good works. And that'll be a byproduct of our abundant faith. A natural byproduct of our abundant faith. And we were created to be that way because that gives glory to God, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

So a reason we diligently seek to obey God is not because we believed that we are saved by good works but because we seek to fulfill our purpose. The whole reason for our being beyond baptism, if it was just about salvation, then probably the smartest thing to do is when someone was baptized to hold them under the water for 10 minutes and they'd be saved. But obviously, that's not part of God's plan because we all came out of that water. And there's a metaphor behind that. We are new creatures. We are now to live with a new purpose. We are God's workmanship created in Jesus Christ for the very purpose of emulating Christ and producing good works. As Paul states, in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 17, therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. So as a new creature, we should have the innocent enthusiasm to serve God. And usually we start out doing that, I've noticed in my 50 years. People start out that way after they're baptized. And then unfortunately sometimes they get stung a few times. They try to do something good and then they get rebuffed forward or they get offended. People don't show appreciation and they kind of lose that enthusiasm.

And that's really sad when that happens. God wants us not merely to be slaves and servants. He calls us his friends. His desire is to have a deep, lasting, abiding, agape love with our Father and with Jesus Christ and with all of our spiritual family, our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We need to understand the importance of both faith and works. They don't oppose one another.

It's not one or the other. They're not in competition. Obedience to God's commandments doesn't give us salvation. It doesn't qualify us for the kingdom of God, only the shed blood of Christ and the grace of God gives us the right to the tree of life. So works and faith are two sides of the same coin and we need both. They work together. Living faith means God's promises to do his part and he expects us to do our part regarding any need. That's where, and many, even in the church, become confused by this understanding. Faith and works are to work together. When we ask God to do something in faith, his expectation is that we will do our part physically in order for that to happen. And that's a very important thing we need to understand.

In Matthew 4 and verse 5, it says, The devil took him up to the holy city and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, If you are the son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, he shall give his angels charge over you, and in their hands they shall bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone. And Jesus said to him, It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord our God. Jesus is saying, You are not going to test me by implying I don't have enough faith because I'm not doing what you want to do. He's saying, You don't put yourself in a situation to tempt a God because he just might let you die. You never put yourself in that situation when there's something you can do, when there's your part to play in faith and works, then you do your part. And in this case, doing something foolish like jumping off the pinnacle of the temple to try to prove a point or try to get sucked into some idea that how faithful I am and lose my life over it is not very smart. Jesus said, And I'm not buying into that because I have faith and God does his part and he expects me to do my part, wherever and whenever that is. Again, Jesus isn't buying into this lie. We can avoid putting ourselves in a dangerous situation. As a matter of fact, if we can do that, we have a responsibility to do our part. Faith is not a license to do what we want.

Faith is not a license to act foolish. Faith is not a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Faith means we totally believe and respect that God will do his part, and he totally believes and expects that whatever it is we need to do will do our part. It's like me praying, oh Lord God, please help me to lose weight and then I proceed to eat like a pig. Do you see the opposing values going on there? And many people think faith is just their get-out-of-jail-free card.

If there's something they don't want to do, they'll say, oh, I'm doing this out of my faith.

And we have to realize that faith requires a responsibility on our part to do whatever we need to do. By keeping God's commandments along with good works, we show that we can do what we need to do. That we are a new creation. Obedience shows that we have a living and active faith. Obeying his commandments is evidence that we responded to our original calling and faithfulness.

So did the Church of God teach salvation or justification by works? The resulting answer is no, we don't. But there were times in the past when, even though we said we didn't teach works, because of what we said, because of doctrines that we emphasized above many others that were far more important, we gave many people the impression that we believed in salvation by works. Now, we do believe that salvation is a free, undeserved gift given by the grace of God.

We do believe that Christians who exhibit good works and obedience show that as evidence of their faith in Christ. We do believe that Jesus Christ was the messenger of the new covenant, and he lived a personal lifestyle example that we should follow. He kept God's law, he respected the Ten Commandments, he was kind, he was patient, he demonstrated all the fruits of the Holy Spirit. We do believe that God's commandments and holy days have an abiding moral and spiritual value.

So today, in this message, I wanted to focus on a few more doctrines and ideas and things that I've learned over the past 50 years as the Church of God, and some of these things were a struggle for me, because I was taught one way in the late 60s by the things that I read in the early 70s by the things that I heard, and to come to see and understand that they were distorted, or in some cases just an error. It was very painful, and it's something that I had to struggle with.

But it's something that's part of the growing process. As I've lived and witnessed many things, I've come to understand that a number of the teachings that I was sincerely told in the 1970s were misguided, and again, sometimes outright, error. But that's all part of the growing process.

It's part of the maturing process. And this takes us all the way back to the beginning of my first sermon on this topic. You may recall that Paul stated in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 12, he said, For now we see in a mirror dimly. We're not half as smart as we'd like to think we are.

But then, in the kingdom of God, face to face, For now I know in part. But then I shall know, just as I am known, just as God knows me today, I will know God and know everything, in complete truth and fullness and understanding that I need to know. Verse 13, he said, And now abide faith, hope, love. These three, but the greatest of these, is love. So Paul, he was humble enough to admit that there are spiritual things he saw dimly.

Again, I want to ask, are we humble enough to admit that?

It's really important. Allow me to answer the question, are we humble enough to admit we don't know everything?

I'll quote my final scripture and my final sentence from 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 5.

For God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

So, brethren, let us continue our journey in faith. Let us have open hearts and open minds, and cling to the trunk of the tree. Have the right foundation, which is Jesus Christ.

Love his law, keep his commandments, observe his Sabbaths and holy days, and all the things that we know that are the true core of the faith of God.

I wish all of you a wonderful Sabbath.