Biblical IF/THEN Statements

For several years, I worked for a state farm doing performance improvement work. And so what we would do is we would be asked to come into certain parts of the company, and we would look at their current processes and try to figure out, is there any more effective ways to do what they were doing?

Every study that we would do along those lines would begin with a process map. So I don't know if any of you have seen a process map. The basics of a process map is you have some basic shapes. It starts and ends with an oval. You have a lot of squares along the way. Squares represent steps along the way. For every shape but one, you have a single arrow coming in and a single arrow going out.

The triangle is, in many ways, the most critical part of a process map because it's a decision point. Did the customer buy?

And for every triangle along the way, you'd have one arrow coming in but two going out. One is a yes path, and then one is a no path. The yes is usually optimal, the most efficient thing happening, and the no is more of an unhappy path scenario that you have to work your way through. Today's sermon is going to be a topical study in the Bible for if-then statements. If-then statements throughout the Bible given by God. And the Bible is full of these statements. If you just search for verses that have the word if and then, there's over 400. And you're going to see when I start giving you examples, there's a lot of them that only use if, and it's absolutely an if-then statement. You get in the thousands. The Bible is absolutely full of these statements. Examples, which we don't need to go to, but I'm just examples. If you look at Exodus 21 and 22, you'll see a full list of if-then situational laws regarding dealing with servants and violence and animal control, responsibilities for property. If you look at Leviticus 1-5, you're going to find dozens more speaking of rules about offerings. So a lot of them along the way. As I started looking into it, I realized there was... you could largely group them into two types. First, the first group summarizes God's plan for helping followers with obedience. What do we need to do for obedience? Rules for obedience. And so for probably the first two-thirds or so of the sermon, we will focus on those. The second group provides lessons around values and perspectives that we should hold to as we make daily choices. So we'll finish with those. But I'd like to clarify along the way that while... Probably I didn't add them up. I mean, certainly half of the verses I will refer to will include both the word if and then.

Close to an equal amount of them will only use the word if. Because in these verses, the then is basically assumed. And so when we come to that point, I will fill in the word then. And if I'm smart enough and thinking about it, I'll kind of do little quotey marks to let you know I fit in the word then. But you'll see it if you're looking at your Bible. And in some situations, you even have the conditional statement that doesn't use the word if or then. I'm actually going to go to one of the verses we had in the sermonette, just as an example. So if you will turn to Genesis 3, verses 1 through 5. I think it makes sense to start reviewing God's working with mankind to look at the conditions of obedience he shared with the very first humans.

And it's kind of ironic that the first challenge that was faced by Adam and Eve dealt with a dispute over what would or what wouldn't happen if a certain action took place. Very... we fight over things like this every day of our life going forward. Genesis 3, verse 1.

Satan's first attempt to trick humans came from an if-then dispute over whose words were correct.

God's or his. And isn't it petty that the fight that was brought up was whether you could eat from one tree in this luxurious garden filled with many, many fruiting trees. But that's what the battle came over. And that's what the first sin hung on. And the penalties not only impacted them, it impacts all of us still today. For the last 6,000 years, every human faces a daily fight over whether to believe the God of the world or the creator God. So each of these if-then verses, I'm going to try to give you like a little life lesson or something to think on. And the lesson from this example is we must listen to God's voice, not Satan's. Please turn to Exodus 19, verses 3 through 6. Exodus 19, verses 3 through 6. And we'll this time look at the time of Moses. You're going to see our work our way through the Bible. The nation of Israel was blessed as a reward of the obedience of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. If you want to use that process map analogy, when they came to the decision points in their life, they picked the right yes path more often than not. And as a result, God blessed their offspring. And God used, as you know, amazing miracles through Moses to free the Israelite slaves from Egypt and teach them how much He loved them, show them His power. Then He started giving some rules for Moses to share. Exodus 19, verse 3. And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to Him from the mountain, saying, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel, You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you in Eagle's wing, and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice, and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. Notice that that's Exodus 19. So just before He gave the Ten Commandments, He gave a clear picture of what could be. Obedient followers would be this treasure above people of any other nation. The lessons from that part of God's interaction with mankind is pretty straightforward, right? If we choose to obey God, then we will be rewarded as very special treasures to Him. And that's something for all of us to remember. And throughout the years, God continually taught Israel, right? Made these conditional teachings to them. And a lot of the things we see are national blessings that are discussed like the one we just looked at, such as the word in verse 6, you shall be a holy nation. And of course, there were national consequences, right? That were prescribed as well. And we know that tens of thousands of Israelites were killed by the nations around them. But I'd like to look now at a few, if then, personal sins and lessons that deal with personal sin. So if you will turn to Leviticus 4, verses 27 through 31. Leviticus 4, 27 through 31. See, the responsibility for sin extends to us individually. And the next three, if then, statements show nuances about personal sin.

And this first verse shows we're responsible for not only our intentional sins, but our unintentional sins that we commit. Leviticus 4, starting in verse 27. If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally by doing something against any of the commandments of the Lord in anything which ought not to be done and is guilty, or if his sin which he has committed comes to his knowledge, then he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a female, without blemish for his sin which he has committed. And then verse 31 finishes, so the priest shall make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him. So the life lesson here is even sins of ignorance need an atonement for by, you know, needing to be atoned for by sacrifice, even if we didn't mean to. And it's not sufficient to say, God, God, I was ignorant about doing wrong, so you can't hold me accountable. Even unintentional sins require a sacrifice, and that speaks to why we needed Jesus Christ's sacrifice. Go forward one chapter, and you'll find another kind of deep and troubling concept about sin. Leviticus 5 and verse 1 starts with the example of a pertinent person witnessing something. I'm going to read this one from the NIV. Leviticus 5 and verse 1, if a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, parenthetically, then he will be held responsible. So sin isn't just about what we do. We are responsible for both the sins of ourself and others. If we know of a matter that we shouldn't be hiding, and we lie or we conceal it, we bear the full guilt. Ouch! Let me put that in perspective. You watch somebody murder somebody, and you don't vouch for the fact that there was murder involved. You bear the guilt of murder. Lesson continues in verse 2.

If a person thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether good or evil, if any matter one might carelessly swear about, even though he is unaware of it, in any case, when he learns of it, he will be guilty. Have you ever promised something that you didn't Eat? Do. Continue. When anyone is guilty of any of these things, he must confess in what way he has sinned. And as a penalty for the sin he has committed, he must bring to the Lord a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin. So, even if we accidentally speak thoughtlessly or swear, as soon as we realize it, we're guilty. So, sooner or later, God will make our wrongs known to us. And the life lesson is we can't cover up our sins. Ultimately, we bear their guilt. Turn now to Ezekiel 14 verses 12 through 14, and we'll get to the next if-then statement about our personal responsibilities for sin. Ezekiel 14, 12 through 14.

What we're going to learn about in this one is how we are individually and personally on a spiritual journey. We're here at church. We encourage each other. We support each other. We can uplift each other. We can make each other stronger. But at the end of the day, we're individually responsible for our ultimate successes or failures. There's no writing coattails spiritually. Ezekiel 14 in verse 12. The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, Son of man, when a land sins against me by persisting unfaithfully, I will stretch out my hand against it. I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it parenthetically, then they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness, says the Lord. So the lesson here is very straightforward. We can't be saved by the convictions or the character of anyone else. It doesn't matter how good of a Christian your parent or your spouse or your best friend is. Their righteousness will not give you any extra points, if you want to call it that, on the Judgment Day. We can take strength from their support, right? We can grow as a result of having them in our lives. But ultimately, our successors or sins are solely up to us. It's a personal journey, is what Christianity is.

You start to see how deep all these if-then statements are and why there's thousands of them in the Bible. They not only summarize the path that God has set in front of mankind, but it also provides the instructions for us of what's expected of us regarding obedience and regarding sin, how to live. And the difficulty in always choosing the correct path reinforces our need for Jesus Christ, why we all need him so deeply to have any kind of hope. If you'll turn next to Numbers 32, verses 20 through 23. Numbers 32, verses 20 through 23. We're going to flip back again now to a national perspective. In this situation, God is talking with the nation of Israel, and Reuben and Gad asked to live on the east side of the Jordan, if you remember the storyline. So in the next three verses, God makes it very clear that he would bless his people for obedience, but also there's negative consequences if they don't obey. Numbers 32, verse 20. Then Moses said to them, If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before the Lord for the war, and all your armed men cross over the Jordan before the Lord, until he has driven out his enemies from before him, and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterwards you may return and be blameless before the Lord and before Israel, and this land shall be your possession before God. It was a great promise to a nation. I mean, what's your dream house? What's the place you've always wanted to live? God made the Garden of Eden. He could make anything, and he's promising in this situation that if we are obeying God, then he will bless us in extravagant ways. Of course, then the next verse gets into the cursing side. Verse 23. But if you do not do so, then take note you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sins will find you out. That last line is kind of like this Arnold Schwarzenegger voice you need to have. You kind of picture that one. Your sins will find you out. But that's a certainty. That's not a threat. That's not a movie line. God will reckon with us for what we do, even if our bad actions never come to public light. That verse builds naturally on the last few of our personal sins, right? We need repentance, and our priority has to be to identify our sins to repent, and to forsook those ways, and obey what God says we're supposed to do. We're not to ignore sins, because all sins, ultimately, are going to be found out at Christ's return at the ultimate judgment. And frankly, they usually find themselves well before that. The truth comes to light, doesn't it? That tends to be what happens. Move forward one chapter. Let's read Numbers 33 verses 55 through 56. Numbers 33, 55, 56. So there are clear consequences for what we do, and in this next verse we learn about the cost of disobedience even more. Numbers 33 starting in 55. But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your side, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell. That's bad enough. Then the next verse really gives the doozy. Moreover, it shall be that I will do to you as I thought to do to them. So pretty steep penalties along the way. Not only will we not be blessed if we disobey, God goes as far as promising to visit us with the punishments that he promised to those who hate his way. Yeah, another if-then's are kind of ouchy, aren't they? They have a little ouch there. The life lesson here is that every decision we make comes with blessings or with consequences. And these are kind of hard to hear along the way. So I think it's important that we never lose sight of the fact that God realizes people are frail.

It isn't as if God expects perfection from us in this life. He knows there's going to be ups and downs, and he knows we will sin. Now, he doesn't like it when we sin, but he certainly understands the reality of it because we're made of clay. And we're on this journey toward perfect obedience. Are you on a journey toward perfect obedience? Are you getting closer to that? That's really a key thing to look at. Look at your spiritual pillars, right? Pick one. Pick one. I mean, but look at David or Peter or Abraham or Elijah. They all failed woefully. They made big mistakes that we read about.

Turn to Isaiah 1, verses 18 through 20. Isaiah 1, 18 through 20. God is evaluating our will. He's evaluating our intentions. Are you and I on a journey moving closer and closer toward perfect obedience? That's the path, hopefully, we are on. God wants people to turn from the evil that he knows is inside us and to obey him. Isaiah 1, verse 18. Come now and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, parenthetical, then you shall eat the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, then you shall be devoured by the sword, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

How ugly are the skeletons in your closet? What are the embarrassing things you've done?

Maybe it's something not in the past. Maybe it's something you're still struggling with. I think the lesson on this one is, no matter how bad our past or our present is, if we're willing to repent and obey, then we will eat of God's forgiveness and his blessings. God wants to do that very, very badly for us. So, as we move throughout Israel's history, we find the people being shown God's power. But it seems like they're more afraid of God's power and fearful of God and therefore want to skip his presence. So, if you'll turn to 1 Samuel 12, 11 through 15, 1 Samuel 12, 11 through 15, Israel then felt that if they had a human king, tell them what to do. That would be a lot more appealing. It's much kinder, it's much softer. If a human king controls you, first a spiritual king, I guess, is the way they thought of it. Well, God made it very clear that that would not change his rules or his expectations. 1 Samuel 12 and verse 11, And the Lord sent Drabell, Bedin, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hands of your enemies on every side, and you dwelt in safety. And when you saw that Nahash, king of the Ammonites, came against you, you said to me, No, but a king shall reign over us when the Lord your God was your king. Now therefore, here is the king, whom you have chosen, and whom you have desired, and take note, the Lord has set a king over you. Now comes the rules. If you fear the Lord and serve him, and obey his voice, and do not rebel against the commandments of the Lord, then both you, O, and the king, who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God. However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandments of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers. So God was advising the kings and the people of Israel that blessings and cursing still came by obedience. It was still that personal journey. And I hope we all get the connection there, because obedience is still equally relevant to us in any government structure we're in. If you think about what's being shared, it's really conceptually quite similar to Paul saying that the expectations that God has for slaves, right? Submit to those in authority, and fear and serve God. Well, you were saying that the people who worked under Nero, with the government structures in all these areas, is what is expected. And make this little personal, think about us in a church. Over the years, the churches of God have divided many times, sadly, based on disputes over optimal government structure. Who was leading? We all like it when we're making the choices. We like it if the person we like makes the choices. But frankly, there's histories we have. If the person we chose to put in place doesn't make the choice we want, then suddenly we're angry at them and want to evict them.

A life lesson that I think we can take from these verses is that regardless of whatever form of government we exist in, or the role we have in it, all of us must submit to those in authority, in fear and serve God. All right, turn next to 1 Kings 6, verses 11 through 13. 1 Kings 6, 11 through 13. So now we're stepping into a situation where God speaks directly to Solomon, who is building this great, amazing, majestic temple. One of the things from the past I wish I could see. I would love to get a visual of that. But God is certainly grateful that it was being built, but he makes very clear his priority is obedience. And I want to make sure that obedience followed the building of this edifice. 1 Kings 6, 11. Then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying, Concerning this temple, which you are building, if you walk in my statutes, execute my judgments, keep all my commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform my word with you, which I spoke to your father David. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my father David. All of these biblical, if-then statements, frankly, the whole Bible. But it's intended to be looked at personally. Many of you may remember Dr. Zimmerman many years ago. But it's important to put your name in these things. So if you see, if you will keep all my commandments, put your name as the you. If Dan will keep all my commandments. And if the verse says, flip side, if you do not obey, then these curses will happen. If Dan does not obey, put your name in there, and even put your name in place of Solomon's, and change the reference from temple to whatever you're trying to do to earn God's affection. The lesson is that good deeds and offerings don't replace obedience. You can give great offerings. You could serve. But what are we doing internally? It's good to honor God, but those actions are worthless if our other actions and motivations don't mirror God's values. He wants us from the inside out, right? He wants the right attitude as well as the right actions. So Israel didn't fully appreciate the loving and caring side of God. And remember, again, God wants to forgive us. God very, very badly wants to forgive us. Turn to Ezekiel 33 verses 10 through 11. Ezekiel 33 10 through 11. Do you ever feel that God somehow finds pleasure in your frailties? Do you ever feel that, kind of like Israel, you fear God's power and you see His bringing punishment and consequences on you more than you see His goodness? Because that's what Israel saw. Ezekiel 33 and verse 10 shows God's mindset. Therefore, you, O Son of Man, say to the house of Israel, thus you say, if our transgressions and our sins lie upon us and we pine away on them, how can we then live? Say to them, as I live as the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turns from his way and lives. And the next verse, again, almost sounds like God pleading with us. Turn, turn from your evil ways, for why should you die, O house of Israel? That's the heart and the emotions that God has for us. You can think of the parable of the shepherd rejoicing with the one lamb. That's God's emotions toward us, wanting us to obey. There's absolutely nothing that God wants more than for us to obey, for us to be blessed.

And that's important to forget. If you're in the depths of a struggle, if you're having a really hard time, reread those verses, because that's encouraging, right? Turn now to Jeremiah 22 verses 3 through 5. Jeremiah 22, 3 through 5. God, as you know, we're kind of zooming through parts of the Bible, but he never stopped extending the olive branch to Israel.

He never stopped offering promises of national blessings for obedience and extending the opportunity to repent, and despite that, he also didn't pull the punches about disobedience. Jeremiah 22 and verse 3. Thus says the Lord, execute judgment and righteousness and deliver the plundered out of the hands of the oppressor.

Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. For if you indeed do this thing, then shall enter the gates of this house, riding horses and insurance, accompanied by servants and people, kings who will sit on the throne of David. But if you will not hear these things, I swear by myself, says the Lord, that then that this house shall become a desolation. And as you know, thatly the people of Israel didn't continue to obey, and the nation was ultimately captured.

And the Bible is very, very clear that the problem was not with the expectations. It was not with the law of God. We will now transition to the New Testament, where we get some more perspective, right, on this whole thing. Turn to Galatians 3 verses 21 through 22. The law could only show the perfect path. It could shed light on our inability to follow without God. And it showed what we should strive to do with God's help, but the need for that. Galatians 3 starting in verse 21. Is the law then against the promises of God? Well, certainly not.

For if there had been a law given which could have given life, then truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the scripture has confined all under sin that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. That confined all under law.

When I read that, I, you know, cartoons, you young people have seen the ones where you have this person with this big one-ton anvil pulling somebody down. It's in a sense the visual I get with this one. The scripture has confined all under law because we desperately need faith and forgiveness and grace to be able to be saved. We can't do it perfectly on our own.

And that, of course, led to Jesus, the creator of the universe, living the perfect life for us, dying for our sins. If you'll turn to 1 Corinthians 15, 12 through 19, the journey continues. 1 Corinthians 15, 12 through 19. Because yes, Jesus came and he lived a perfect life, but his resurrection is also pivotal to the hope that we have of a future.

And you'll see that presented in if-then statements. 1 Corinthians 15, starting in verse 12. Now, if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead, then how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God, that he raised up Christ, whom he did not raise up, if, in fact, the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile. You are still under sins. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, parenthetically, then we are of all men the most pitiable. So we see the power of what Christ's resurrection has done by this contrast of hopelessness, if it didn't happen, as in compared to what's been enabled, our future hope that's enabled, because he has been resurrected, all told through if-then statements.

What are you struggling with these days? What's the challenge that is making you uncomfortable? I encourage you, the lesson here is we must focus on our hope beyond this life. Don't let something in this life become so daunting that you lose the big picture. When the pressures of today seem the heaviest, refocus on the hope that's far beyond this life. That's what's being encouraged. So we know the first 4,000 years of God's interaction with civilization showed God deeply cared and that they couldn't obey well enough without his help.

Turn next to Acts 8 in verse 34 through 38, because we'll see the next part of what is expected of us as believers. After the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, the Holy Spirit was extended to everyone who is called and chooses to make a commitment to God. We're blessed. We're blessed in this country. We're blessed as Americans. But it doesn't matter your nationality, your race, your sex, your creed, your pedigree.

Ultimate, unultimately our spiritual destiny comes from our relationship with God, his Holy Spirit in us, us committing to him. All believers have to make obedience a choice. Right? For salvation to become possible. And we see that in Acts 8 starting in verse 34. So the eunuch answered Philip and said, I ask you of whom does this prophet say this? Of himself or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning at this scripture preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road they came to some water and the eunuch said, see here is water. What hinders me from being baptized? Then Philip said, if you believe with all your heart, parenthetically, then you may. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. So he commanded the chariot to stand still and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and he baptized them. So a true belief in what Jesus did for us should lead every believer to baptism. And that's explained in this if-then example. It's a critical decision point. If you want to go back to that process map, that's a required triangle in your life that you make that yes commitment if salvation is one of the desired things that you are looking to do. But baptism is only the beginning because after we're baptized then we must continue to follow Christ. What I'd like to do now is pivot from if-then statements about obedience and start looking at some of them about what proper Christian if-then living looks like. Perspectives to have as we go through those. It's easy to get a little depressed about reading about the failures of those who followed God in the past, right? And as we look at all these specific instructions about how to live, we can see a lot of failures. We can look at ourselves and we can see a lot of failures, right? I mean that's a very human thing to do. Let's look at an if-then statement that gives us hope. Turn to Romans 8 verses 31 through 33. Romans 8, 31 through 33. It's very reassuring to know that we have the greatest champion. We have the greatest ally in the world. And so this next verse is one of my favorites. Romans 8 starting in verse 31. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, put the then in there, then who can be against us? If he did not spare his own son but delivered him up from us all, then how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. I would argue a lot of the favorite verses people have are actually if-then statements. They may not always have the word, but they're absolutely conditional statements that God's promises are.

God justifies or wipes our sins clean. So the lesson is God can overcome our biggest challenges. If God is for us, who can be against us? And he promises to freely give all things. What are you struggling with now? All things. It's easy to follow God when things are going our way, right? Again, let's put the human nature side of this in it. But our duty is to accept God's blessings that will come in his way, based on his will and at his timing. And if we're willing to submit to the directions that God leads us, then no one can stop us. Even if another person is giving you grief, God says no one can bring a charge against you spiritually. Big picture again. Not 70 year plus life. Big picture. Okay. But what are we to do? Let's look at Matthew 7 verses 7 through 12. Matthew 7, 7 through 12. Jesus, as you know, he was not afraid to use if-then statements. And of course, we see him throughout the Old Testament, too. But as a human, he made very clear the expectations. Matthew 7 starting in verse 7. Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds. And to him who knocks, it will be opened. Or what man is there among you if his son asks for bread will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, parenthetical, then how much more will your father who was in heaven give good things to those who ask him? Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the law and the prophets.

Who is the most generous person you've ever met? If you think about a child, right? Every day, a child, you think about your parents, along the way for the young folks, your parents gave you food and clothing and shelter and opportunities when you were as a baby were doing nothing. Well, Jesus is saying that that's nothing compared to what God the Father is willing to do for us. So the lesson is we must keep asking and seeking and knocking from God who will help us only a loving Father can in ways that we can't even imagine. And that's a beautiful encouragement. Okay, so all we have to do is just ask then, right? Not exactly. Because Israel was thinking they should be blessed for doing their will instead of God's will. And it doesn't work that way.

If then, statements make clear that God's blessings come from doing his way before our own. So turn now to Matthew 16, verses 24 through 27. Matthew 16, 24 through 27. Our responsibility is to seek God's way as a lasting treasure. And Christ expects us to sacrifice our desires for his. That's where it gets tough. That's where application is much different than understanding the principle. Matthew 16, verse 24. Then Jesus said to his disciples, If anyone desires to come after me, then let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will find soul, will find it. Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each according to his works. So denying ourselves and not prioritizing saving our life is what we're being asked to do. But that doesn't necessarily come naturally, does it? That's one of those difficult things internally, as selfish humans. And that's why Christianity is this lifelong journey, step by step, filled with ups and downs and ups and downs and working our way through.

And that's, I think, why if-then statements are kind of hard. They're kind of shocking, because they're very clear conditions. There's a lot of ouch in them because of that clarity. So what about our personal rights? You know, we're... What about my rights?

Freedom has a lot of different meanings to people.

Many feel freedom means we're free to do and be whatever we want. But Jesus says, for us to follow him, then we must deny ourselves, right? We must take up our cross. Turn to John 8 verses 31 through 36. John 8, 31 through 36. And before you inherently go to that it's-not-fair concept that I think we're all kind of born with, the it's-not-fair clause, we get over that by viewing our desires and our calling from a perspective far beyond 70-plus years, right? It's only when we have a balanced perspective of God's long-term plan for us that we're able to clearly see the slavery to sin that Satan wants us to focus on and to crave. And only when we look at the world from God's perspectives, we start to understand what true freedom really is. John 8 verse 31. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believe him, if you abide in my words, then you are my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, we are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say you will make us free? And Jesus answered them, Most assuredly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin, and a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore, if the son makes you free, then you shall be free indeed. So the lesson is true godly freedom comes from being Christ's disciples, abiding in his word. That's what we are to be growing toward and doing, and that means we deny ourselves when it comes to seeking something that is not in alignment with what God says in his will. So Christianity, of course, is much easier during good times. It's easier when things are going the way we would like them to go. But what about those days of adversity? What about when everything is going against you? You've all had those days. Those are the icky ones. Turn back to Proverbs. Let's read something Solomon wrote. Proverbs 24 verses 10 through 14. So the wisest man gave a statement about how we should react on days of testing, because that's when I know I can fail, is when you're down, you're tired, and you start being tested one after the other. I'm going to read this one because I like the clarity on it from the New Living Translation. Proverbs 24 starting in verse 10. If you fail under pressure, then your strength is too small. Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die. Save them as they stagger to their death. Don't excuse yourself by saying, look, we didn't know. For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. I think that's funny. Oh, he knows you knew. He then will repay all people as their actions deserve. My child, eat honey, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to the taste. In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, then you will have a bright future, and your hope will not be cut short. So we need to have more faith than to faint in a day of adversity, is what this is saying. A lot of what we're being taught relates to attitude. So much of the Bible is about attitude. It's obedience, but not just obedience, because you're going to fail if your obedience isn't led by your attitude. You try to do the right thing for the grumpy reason. It's not going to work real well. Are we proud? Are we haughty, or are we humble before God? Do we seek God's way, or do we seek our own? All right, please turn to 2 Chronicles 7, 12 through 14. Again, I'm only touching on a few of these. I'll definitely give you more scriptures than normal. Remember, there's thousands. No, I'm not giving you thousands.

2 Chronicles 7, 12 through 14. I think these questions lead to one of the best-known if-then verses in the Bible. And the context is God recognizing Solomon's prayer for support. So that's the context here. 2 Chronicles 7, 12. Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said to him, I hear your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their lands. Famous verse. Our ultimate desire is for God to listen to us, right? To hear our prayers, to bless us personally, our families, our nation. And it's all possible, but it starts with us being humble and seeking God throughout our day, turning from evil. That's an ongoing area that we see in these if-then's. And when we really live this way, then we're able to achieve the next if-then statement that Jesus gives. So turn to Luke 11, 33 through 36. Luke 11, 33 through 36. If we truly live humbly before God and our neighbor, and seek God in his mercy every day, we'll set an example that will shine brightly. It's not, again, just about us. Luke 11 and verse 33. No one, when he has little lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand that those who come in may see the light. The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore, take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. All right. Now verse 36 is going to introduce a different type of if-then statement that we haven't seen before. This is a situation where you have the word if and then side by side at the beginning of a sentence. Any time you see that, it's basically making the if as a given. And you could take the then and move it to where the response naturally happens in a sentence. So I'll read what's here, and I'll give you an example of how that would work in this verse. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light. Okay. I'm going to now move the word then. If your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, having no part dark, then the whole body will be full of light as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light. Notice the light that's being referenced in here is something that's coming through us. Remember, the whole Old Testament was we couldn't do it our own. That was one of the lessons.

Our light represents Christ working through us. And so that's why verse 35 says, Take heed that the light which is in you is not darkened. The lesson is we shouldn't hide the light Christ has coming through us. We shouldn't cloak that and not let him be what makes us radiant, right? What makes us most effective. Ecotistical me-first people don't set an example people want to follow. But when we live as humble disciples who are obedient and select the right yes paths and let Christ shine through us at each decision point, then they're not going to see darkness. People are going to see the light in how we act and how we live. That's what's being referenced. Turn next to James 1 verses 23 through 27. I personally love James. I find him exceptionally direct. He would be an interesting person to talk with. Very dogmatic. I think a very black and white thinker. James 1 verses 23 through 27. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, then he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror. For he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. If anyone among you thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, then this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. How's that for a kind of blunt? If you can't bridle your tongue, your religion is useless. There's one of those out statements in the Bible. Remember, true freedom comes from being a servant of God. And so James connects being God's servant is following this perfect law of liberty. It's what he's talking about. Again, freedom. And that's a contrast to what Satan tells us, where we should focus on our freedoms and experiencing our pleasures. That leaves us slaves to sin. And then verse 27 is this powerful verse that we all know about pure religion. But until putting this together, I didn't catch that. It's connected to an if-then statement is what it's done. If we truly want to be a follower of God, then we must be a doer and a giver to those who can't help themselves. And we must bridle our tongues. All right. Turn now to Matthew 6 and verse 14. Matthew 6 and verse 14. Again, it's about attitude and perspective and how we live now. Another example that we struggle with in our spiritual journey is forgiveness.

We like to be forgiven, but it's easy to question why we should forgive somebody else. Matthew 6 and verse 14. For if you forgive men their trespasses, parenthetically, then your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, then neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Another one of those out statements along the way that's an if-then. It's easy to want God to, you know, maybe want to question God in this way. I get it. But what about this situation? Right? What about... Okay, let me let me let's negotiate a little bit, God. But let me flip that on you. Imagine if God did that with you. We really don't want God to have doubts about whether to forgive you. Yeah, Dan, you know, usually I would, but let me talk to you about that scenario that I don't think I'm gonna forgive you for. So as it comes to us living it, if we're in doubt, forgive. Our priority must be to forgive others first. And then that naturally takes us to another lesson. Turn to Proverbs 25 verses 21 through 22. Proverbs 25, 21 through 22. It's much easier to forgive a close friend, right? A family member. If we view our neighbor, though, through the lens of forgiveness, that we view our strangers and our enemies through the lens of forgiveness, and every person is a future son of God, like Jesus speaks about, then it makes us more apt to forgive even those we're not really comfortable with. Proverbs 25 and verse 21. If your enemy is hungry, parenthetically, then give him bread to eat. And if he is thirsty, then give him water to drink. For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you. So just like we have a duty to forgive first, we have a duty to care for our enemies. If-then statements aren't easy, I'll say that. We have a duty to care for others even if there is no chance they would ever do the same for us. There's one more if-then statement I'd like us to review before we finish with some amazing if-then promises about God's future. Turn to Luke 12 verses 22 through 31.

So again, by the area we're going to be reading Jesus' statements, and this gives us comfort that Jesus is there with whatever you're struggling with, wherever your anxiety is. He is more than enough to help us out. Luke 12 and verse 22.

Here's another example. You could just move the then on this one.

So again, I'll give you an example of how you could flip that.

So if you've been to a tropical island or a botanical garden, you've seen these beautiful flowers. You can just think of some of the orchids or some of the things Kelly works with. You just see all these beautiful things, and you know there's no way we could ever make ourselves as beautiful as any of those items. And if a plant can be that amazing, what more is God willing to do for people He's going to call His children, right, who He gave His Son's life for? That's the perspective. Let's finish with the few verses that show what God is willing to do for those who follow Him. Turn to Romans 8 verses 12 through 17. Romans 8, 12 through 17. Remember, God knows we are sinners who at best will live our lives imperfectly. Yet He created this amazing universe for us. He had His Son give His life for us. Let's now look at a promise He provided to us in Romans 8. Romans 8 and verse 12. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh, for if we live according to the flesh, then you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, then you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you do not receive the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you receive the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with God, if we indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. Not only are we blessed in this life and those promises that were promised, we're destined to call the most powerful being in the universe, Daddy. That's stunning. And many of the verses, if you want to look at the other areas where it talks about being heirs of God, they're if-then statements. If then, if then, you know, common verses you think about Abba being His children, adoption, all along those lines, or if-then statements.

Turn to Hebrews 12, 7 through 11. Hebrews 12, 7 through 11. You know, you might say, wait, why is God testing me so much then? If He's my loving Daddy, why is He then punishing me? I think that next verse gives us some perspective. Hebrews 12, starting in verse 7. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not more, much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed, for a few days chastened us, as seemed best to them. But he for our prophet, that we may be partakers of his holiness. Now, no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful. Nevertheless, after it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. I remember being told that is my dad. But it's wisdom and it's truth. It's a perspective when we're being shaped, when trials happen, when there's challenges. It's an important thing to keep in mind. If we're without chastening, we're illegitimate and not sons of God. I hope this gives you a different way of looking at God's plan, because really the whole Bible, the whole perspective of everything being taught, is truly bound within if-then statements.

Each provides this lesson that helps us day to day. Let's look at one final verse, Colossians 3 verses 1 through 7. Colossians 3, 1 through 7. Adam and Eve obviously had a close relationship with God. I mean, they were able to speak face to face. But the Bible promises us much closer of a relationship. There's no evidence that Adam and Eve saw themselves as spiritual heirs to God, that they called him daddy. You know, all these things that you see what's promised for eternity is something just beautiful. Colossians 3 and verse 1. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above. Or, let me do the flip of verses there. If you were raised with Christ, then seek those things which are above. Where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God, set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Therefore, put to death your members, which are on the earth fornication and cleanliness, passion, evil desires, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourself once walked when you lived in them. When you lived according to the if-then statements of Satan that he tried to trick Adam and Eve with. Rather than fall for the if-then promises of Satan, we must seek things from above. And if we choose that correct yes-decision path in life, our reward will be spiritual glory.