Does Observing the Holy Days Save Us?

Thank you, Mr. Blakey. That was very beautiful and very appropriate concerning the home that God has given us and the shelter that we now have. But more important than this physical building is the spiritual shelter that we're able to enjoy with one another every week by keeping God's Sabbath and fellowshiping.

You know, for thousands of years, many sincere religious people have been perpetrating a lie. They've been perpetrating a lie about God's Holy Days. And the lie is this. They say that if you closely obey the New Testament and Old Testament teachings regarding the Holy Days, that you must believe in salvation by works. They say that you people think that by obeying God's command that you are justified and that makes you righteous. That's a criticism that's been going on for two thousand years. And I read a lot of literature, and that is a very common theme in a lot of traditional Protestant theology.

Well, we know, of course, at the beginning shortly, we are all going to be prepared in thinking about the spring holy days. We're going to be doing such things as taking leaven out of our homes. On the Passover, we're going to partake of bread and wine. We're going to wash one another's feet.

We're going to observe the night to be much remembered. We're going to have an opportunity to do it together as a congregation if you so choose to join us that evening. We hope to have it right here, have a catered meal right here is something that we're working on. We know that we'll worship God in the first and the seventh day of unleavened bread. But because we do these things, are we trying to earn our salvation by works?

Is that really true? Is that what we believe? Is that what our actions tell the world that we believe that we're saved by our works or that we think that we're saved by obedience to God? What does the Bible say actually saves us? What is the attitude that we should have about God's Holy Day? Should we keep God's Holy Days because they are commanded in the Book of Leviticus?

Or is there a deeper, far more spiritual reason that we should zealously, tenaciously hold onto and cleave to God's Holy Days in his Sabbath? Turn with me to Romans 3, verse 20. Because it all starts when we understand righteousness. That is being made right. That is from being in a state of sin to being right in the eyes of God, righteousness.

We're going to begin in Romans 3, verse 20. We're going to see a reoccurring praise. One of them is the righteousness of God, not our righteousness, but we'll see the reoccurring praise, the righteousness of God, and we'll see a reoccurring praise twice, his righteousness. Let's begin. Paul is writing in chapter 3, beginning in verse 20. He says, Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

So keeping any law. It doesn't matter whether it's the Ten Commandments, the law of Moses, anything you define as law. You can do it faithfully, perfectly. You can be diligent, but you cannot be justified by the deeds, by doing anything regarding keeping any type of law.

And that includes the Ten Commandments. It says, For by the law is the knowledge of sin. The law is there to make us realize that we fall short. It's there to say, Here are the standards, here are the values we need to live by, and we're not living up to those standards and values. So therefore, we need a Savior, and we need to grow and mature as disciples of Jesus Christ. We need to follow the examples of Jesus Christ, to follow his life and his example.

Continuing here, verse 21, But now the righteousness of God, apart from the law, or separate from the law, is revealed, being witnessed by the law in the prophets. Verse 22, Even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It doesn't matter what our background is, doesn't matter whether we're male or female, whether we grew up in the church as a small child, or whether we came into the church at age 80, we have all sinned and we fall short of the glory of God.

And that's what God's law constantly reminds us. Verse 24, Being justified freely by his grace, and grace is favor. It's a favorable pardon and forgiveness by God, because he loves us and he favors us, freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by his blood, meaning a covering, a covering on an altar, a shed blood that covers up sins and iniquities.

How? Through faith, to demonstrate, again, his righteousness, because in his forbearance, God had passed over the sins that were previously committed. To demonstrate at this present time, his righteousness. Do you see that reoccurring theme has nothing to do with our righteousness? It has nothing to do with who we think we are or how good we think we are or how obedient we think we are. Salvation, justification, is due to his righteousness, not something that we do.

That he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law of works? No, but by the law of faith. So we have no reason to boast and say, well, I'm more righteous than someone else or I'm just a better person or I have more of God's spirit than someone else. We have no reason to make those kind of boasts. We have no reason to say, well, because I do more good things than other people that I'm superior or righteous or better than someone else is.

He says, no, but by the law of faith. Verse 28, Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Now, of course, in verse 28, the word apart is from a Greek word that is pronounced ko-is and it means separately or beside something apart from something.

We'll get back to that in a minute.

I want to notice how Paul focuses on the phrase. I want you to notice this, the righteousness of God and in two places where we read the phrase His righteousness. We need to understand the power behind these statements as we prepare for the spring holy days. Here's number one. God gave mankind His commandments to remind us and tell us that we are sinners. And every time we look at those commandments, we should be reminded of how far we fall short of God's commandments. And I don't mean just the letter of the law. I mean the commandments, as Jesus taught them, which is the spiritual aspect of the law. You know, I had some very unkind and un-Christian thoughts about some truckers this week that I had the repent of. Now, I didn't physically break the ten commandments. I didn't literally grab anyone by the throat and strangle the life out of them. No, I did not do that, but I considered it. I thought about it. So God gave His commandments to remind us that we fall short, to remind us and tell us that we're sinners, and that we need to conform not to just the letter of the law, but we need to begin filtering and controlling and submerging thoughts that are coming in up here. And that's very important. What few things that we may do that are good for our community, for our family, for at the workplace, what few things that we may do are good, our good works cannot compensate for all of our sins. It's not like there's some big balance. Every time you do something good, a weight is thrown on this side of the balance of the scale, and it kind of tilts. And every time you do something bad, it kind of tilts. And no, it's all tilted in one direction, and the direction is guilty, right? Worthy of death, condemned. And the only way that that balance flips totally in an opposite direction is through the righteousness of God. It's through His righteousness, and we'll explain that more in a minute. How can we become righteous or justified in God's sight? It occurs when we have faith, and faith again is a deep belief in a few things. First of all, here's the kind of faith that we need to have. Faith that salvation is a gift. I don't deserve it. It's not something that I'm worthy of, that I could possibly be worthy of, because God loves me so much as a gift. He said, here, I'm giving you salvation. It's yours. Take it. Take it. It's yours. I'm giving it to you.

It's freely given to us by God because He favors us. That's His grace. And because He wants to pardon our sins. Salvation is possible because Jesus Christ shed His blood, and He became our Passover. Because He was the one righteous Creator God, His one life is of more value than everything that was ever created. Because He is so great and magnificent and omnipotent, His one life is of greater value than everything else that has ever been created. So when He lived without sin, and when He paid that one complete sacrifice, He paid the penalty for all sins. All past sins, all sins committed today, all sins that will be committed by those yet unborn. That's how great our God is. That's how great the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was and why He was worthy and able to do that. Salvation is granted when we repent of our sins, when we acknowledge Christ as our personal Savior, and when we receive the Holy Spirit. And when that happens, a change should begin to occur in our life. We become new creatures, a new creation in Jesus Christ, and we'll talk about that in a little bit. But His righteousness not only forgives our sins of the past, but it continues to forgive us even today and tomorrow. As long as that Spirit dwells within us, and as long as we continue to repent, we say, Father, I'm weak, I'm feeble, I'm nothing without You. Please strengthen me and grant me Your love and forgiveness. The righteousness of Christ is so great that our present sins and weaknesses, even those we have right now, are forgiven because of the grace of God. I wanted to just make a comment about verse 28 because it's often distorted by traditional Christianity. I'd like to read verse 28 again. It says, therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Did you know that many people hold a traditional Protestant view that literally changes this scripture to a teaching that was originated by a man named Martin Luther? They say this scripture teaches something they call solified or justified by faith alone. They're saying there's nothing else you need to do but have faith in Jesus Christ. That works are actually bad. That works have nothing to do with faith. This misunderstanding of the scripture only confuses the matter and has resulted in millions of people living a life of dead faith, or what the Protestants themselves call a cheap faith.

By misunderstanding this important scripture, millions have been misled to think that they've achieved instant eternal salvation when they profess the name of Jesus Christ. One very prominent televangelist who's a young, gifted speaker says at the end to every one of his programs, he says, if you said this prayer, then we believed that you were born again.

Meaning almost like, I hate to use a pagan phrase, but it's almost like wave the magic wand.

Was it Groucho Marx? It said, say the magic void. If you just uttered the magic, where I believe in Jesus, suddenly, like waving a magic wand, your whole life has changed. And the whole direction, you were heading towards one place that was about as warm as it is in here now. And now, you're no longer heading in that direction. And they say you're heading towards another direction. Is it really that simple? Are there magic words that we can say and not have to do anything else but utter magic words? Can I? Is it possible for me to say that Jesus is my Savior? I accept Jesus as my Savior and then go out and have lunch with my mistress? And it's okay? It's cool with God?

It's all right? Is that really possible? Is that what the Bible teaches? Many of these sincere people have led fruitless, sometimes even ungodly lives, believing that it's okay, because since they accepted Christ, that nothing they say or do has any importance or significance to God. But is that really true? Let's go to Galatians chapter 2, beginning in verse 11, and we'll begin to answer these questions. Galatians chapter 2, beginning in verse 11. Peter had equality that I admire about him because he reminds me a lot of myself, in that Peter was a sinner. I hope I don't shock anyone by saying that. He actually had been a minister for many years at this point, and he makes a boo-boo. I mean, he has an obvious sin. Why? Because he was a human being, and human beings fall short, human beings make mistakes, human beings sin. And in Galatians chapter 2, we'll pick it up here in verse 11. Paul brings out a point that I think is important for us to understand regarding the works of the law that is trying to do good deeds and whether that is acceptable to God. So let's pick it up in verse 11. Now when Peter had come to Antioch, Paul said, I withstood him to his face because he was to be blamed. For before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles. So before people came from Jerusalem, which James was a very conservative member of the council, Peter would fellowship with the Gentiles. They'd break bread together. They'd slap each other in the back. He would touch them. They'd have a great time. He was just a normal guy.

And he says, but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of this circumcision. He was afraid of what the people in Jerusalem would think about him, what they would say about him if they saw him treating Gentiles like equals. Because as we know, according to Jewish law, Gentiles were unclean. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him. Those are pretty strong words. He calls Peter a hypocrite. So that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. Paul's buddy Barnabas, who he went on missions with, they were buddies. They journeyed together. You know, they took risks together. They had missionary journeys as friends. Even Barnabas was sucked into this hypocrisy. Verse 14, but when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, if you being a Jew live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? He says, you know, Peter, you're not even a good Jew. You're not an observant Jew. You don't... and how could Paul... I would give Paul the right to say this, because Paul had been a Pharisee. He'd been a very zealousy. He knew what being an observant Jew really meant. And Peter was not an observant Jew. It was like a smorgasbord. He had some areas of Judaism he clung to and others he'd already given up for the sake of Christ. But he was not a faithful observant Jew by any means. Let's continue here. He's verse 15, but who are... try that again... we who are Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. So Peter was a fine man, but here he's setting a poor example. He's sinning. Bigotry is a sin. Hypocrisy is a sin. And being human, he demonstrated the sin of hypocrisy. This was something that he had not confronted with in himself yet. And it takes courage for us to confront our faults and weaknesses. We can either continue to live in denial and think that everything is hunky-dory, or we get to the point in life where we confront those serious issues that we've been dealing with for a lifetime.

And I'm here to say before the Passover that some of us, it's about time we confronted those issues.

It is truly time to do it. Peter fellowshiped with Gentile believers openly, but when his friend showed up who treated the Gentiles in inferior, suddenly Peter changes like somebody flips a switch and he starts treating these Gentiles as if they're second-class citizens or like they're inferior, and he shunned them and he treated them differently. And it's Paul that reminds Peter that, look, it isn't obedience to the law that makes us justified or saved.

And Paul has to remind him of that. It's faith in Jesus Christ. And what Paul is implying here is that these Gentile believers have given up just as much as we have. They have just as much faith as we have in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Messiah. We should not be treating them as second-class citizens because they don't keep all of the law of Moses or Judaism.

I think that's important for us to understand. The works of the law don't justify us. All the good deeds that we might do don't save us, don't justify us. It is simply faith in Christ. That along with that is grace, of course, and the grace is possible because God gives us that gift. Let's now go to Philippians chapter 3 beginning in verse 1. Philippians chapter 3 and verse 1.

Philippians chapter 3 verse 1. 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. So Paul said, sometimes I have to repeat things over again and we know that repetition is one of the ways that we learn things. Beware of dogs. Now that's just people that are very unclean and vile spiritually. Beware of dogs. Beware of evil workers. Beware of the mutilation. He's talking about circumcision.

I shocked someone once when they called me and they said, Mr. Thomas, is do I have to have my son circumcised on the eighth day? I said, you don't have to have your son circumcised at all. What? Because that's what the Bible teaches. It's not required. Now, if we do it for cultural reasons, that's okay. I don't have a problem with that. But according to the word, it's not necessary. It's not necessary to have a relationship with God. What he wants circumcised is this stony heart that we have beating in our chest. That's what we need to circumcise and not worry about other sensitive areas. Verse 3, for we are the circumcision who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Yes, I'm very special because I've been circumcised. He says, we should have no confidence in the flesh. You shouldn't brag about the fact that you've been circumcised, or somehow that makes us superior or better than anyone else. Verse 4, though I also might have confidence in the flesh, if anyone else thinks that he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so. Paul says, all right, I'll play this game for a minute. We're going to talk about bragging rights, Paul says, all right, I'll play. I was circumcised on the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin. Kings came from the tribe of Benjamin in my head. A Hebrew of the Hebrews, concerning the law of Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church, concerning the righteousness, which is in the law blameless. I was an observant, Jew, he said. I was more righteous than my peers. Man, I kept the letter of the law perfect. People looked at me and said, there is a mighty righteous man, that's all. There is a godly man, that's all. He keeps the whole law. What a wonderful example. So he says, concerning the righteousness, which is in the law blameless, but what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed, I also count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ. What a remarkable attitude. Prestige to the rubbish, being considered a righteous Pharisee, and people looking up to him, rubbish. Wealth, rubbish. Material possessions, a home? Paul would have said, what home? Home? What are those? What's a home? Paul would have said, rubbish to him. Because it was all about the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. Continuing here, and be found, verse 9, and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. So again, I want to emphasize that we're not righteous by anything that we do. All of the right intentions and good works that we do in the world cannot make us righteous. Our own righteousness is usually soon followed by our own sinfulness. Isn't that right? I mean, we might be really good for a day, and we have great thoughts, we treat everybody with respect and dignity, and then we have that bad day, right? And one good day might be followed by one bad day. Only a righteousness that comes as a gift from God can make you and I righteous in His sight. Nothing that we do. The scriptures we have read are plain. We are justified by faith. Salvation is a gift from God. We can't earn it by good works. We don't deserve it.

We receive it simply by faith in Jesus Christ. Now let's talk about faith for a minute as you turn to James, chapter 2, and verse 17, because it's important for us to understand what a living, a vital, and an active faith is all about. I've mentioned recently what the word faith means, and it causes a lot of confusion. I'd like to remind you that faith is believing and knowing something that you cannot see, feel, taste, touch, or hear. There's no evidence. There's no proof that it's true. Faith is believing it and knowing it, even though there is no evidence that it's going to happen. If you receive one little bit of evidence, then faith is no longer required. You actually have evidence or you have proof. So that's when faith would end. Faith is when you have absolutely no proof or evidence to support what you believe, what you hope for, what you know.

James, chapter 2, and verse 17, he says, Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God you do well, even the demons believe and tremble. Verse 20, But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Now think about that contrast. God said, I want you to do so. I want you to sacrifice your son. By faith, Abraham said, Okay, God, you said it. I believe it. I'm going to do it. But he still physically took his son three days journey to Mount Moriah. He still took his son and tied him up and put him on an altar. He still held that knife over his son and was ready to plunge it into his son and obey what God had told him to do until he was stopped. You see, his faith went hand in hand with his actions, with what he did. Verse 22, You see that faith was working together with his works, and by works, faith was made perfect.

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. You see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only. Likewise was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out another way. For the body without the Spirit is dead. So faith without works is dead also. They're not in competition with each other. Faith and works aren't at war. It's not one or the other. They go hand in hand. Faith is not a real or a living or an act of faith if it lacks the fruits or good works of God's Spirit within us.

If all that we do is believe something and there are no fruits or there are no works, then it's simply a spoken declaration. It's that simple. Paul and James agree. Good works don't save us. Good works don't make us superior. Good works don't make us righteous. But good works are the evidence of a sincere faith. James is discussing an essential ingredient in faith, the kind of faith that results in salvation. We've been talking about salvation. His answer is that a mature faith always produces good and positive works as a natural result or a byproduct of that faith, a belief. If those good works, those positive actions aren't there, then all we are, as Paul would say, is sounding brass. Are we just making a noise? Yeah, I believe. Yeah, this is going to happen. Yeah, I believe. But if there aren't any fruits there, we're showing we really don't believe.

We don't have the kind of faith that God wants us to have. The Bible does not teach that a person is ever saved by just a profession of faith. By saying, yeah, I have faith, or saying, yeah, I believe that Jesus is my Savior, or I keep the Sabbath, or I keep the Holy Days. God says, that's great, that's a good start, but where is the byproduct of that faith? Where are the fruits of that statement, of that proclamation? Where are the life changes as a result of that proclamation? Works are not a grounds of our justification before God, but if they're not present, there's no living faith, and if there is no faith, then there is no justification. Remember, we are saved by faith. Faith being something that's active and living and produces good fruits, good works as a result of that faith. So since we know we're not saved by good works, and I've spent a lot of time here explaining that good works won't save us in any way, so why do good works?

Why are we so eager? Why do we talk about it? Sabbath after Sabbath, about being lights in our community. We heard in the sermonette today about the city on the hill. We heard in special music about light and darkness. Why all this emphasis on good works if they have nothing to do with our salvation or saving us? Let's go to Matthew chapter 5 and verse 13, a scripture that Jim Housen turned to this morning, but I forgive him. I love him anyway. I'm trying to get a copyright on Matthew 5.13, but the patent office hasn't come through for me yet. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 13, you are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. Now the salt here represents loyalty and friendship. Jesus said, you are my disciples. There's supposed to be loyalty and friendship between I, your Savior, and you as my disciples. Did you know that the Arab word for a treaty or for a compact is the same word that they use for salt? So Jesus says, you're salty.

We have a friendship together. I'm loyal to you. I shed my blood for you. I want you to live your life for me. I want you to be a light. And an example, if we turn to Numbers chapter 18 and verse 19, which we don't have time today, we would see that salt was added to the sacrifices and it symbolized having a friendship, a relationship with God. So Jesus is saying, let's continue here, verse 14, you are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. So Jesus is saying that our light needs to be seen in a world of darkness. In verse 16, he equates our light with good works that bring glory to God. As disciples in Christ, we now share a new covenant with Jesus Christ and with God. That's a covenant of loyalty, that yes, Jesus, I will follow you and I will make even the ultimate sacrifice because of my faith in you. I'm willing to die. I'm willing to give up my physical life if I have to, to maintain the truth and the values that I've been given. After all, that's what he did for us. Is it to ask too much in return if that's required of us someday? And also friendship.

We'll see a little later where Jesus said in the eve of his death, I don't call you just my servants anymore. I call you my friends. We have a special bond. We have a special relationship that goes beyond master and slave or just do this and do that or beyond I command you. Well, certainly God can command us. He has the right to command us. He says, but I desire to have a close, affectionate relationship with you that goes beyond just commanding you to do things all of the time.

So as disciples in Christ, we now share a new covenant with God and we should be salty. We should have a sense of loyalty to Jesus Christ, a friendship with Jesus Christ, because we talk to him every day through our prayers and he talks back to us by studying his word. And that we fast occasionally because we want to overcome our own humanity and the physical and emotional and spiritual barriers that we put up between ourselves and God that sometimes can only be broken through by fasting. Let's turn to 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 11 and continue to explore this concept of why good works are important. If they don't save us and they don't, if they don't make us justified in God's eyes, which our good works don't, then why should we do them? 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 11.

Peter wrote, Beloved, I beg you, as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. So our actions, the way that we live our lives, including our thoughts and what we do, should be so obvious that people conceive and observe the way that we are. And by doing that, they'll glorify God. Verse 13. Therefore, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme or to governors or to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. No matter what they say about you, it will be submerged by doing good, by our light, by our example. Verse 16.

As free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice. Don't use the fact that you don't need works to be saved as a reason to sin, as some excuse not to grow and develop, as an excuse not to change your life. Don't use that as some type of liberty, as a cloak, for doing nothing.

But as bondservants of God, verse 17, honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. So one reason we diligently seek to obey God is not because, again, we believe we're saved by good works, but because we want to glorify our Father who offers us sonship in his family.

We want people to look at us and see, even if it's just a little glimmer, to see Christ living his life in us. Let's go to Ephesians chapter 2 now in verse 1. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1.

As we build on the reasons that we should desire to change, that we should desire to examine ourselves to prepare for the upcoming Passover in the days of Unleavened Bread. Why, we should do more good works in our life, not thinking that they save us, but for these reasons, beginning in verse 1. And you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath just as the others. We don't want to be children of wrath. Verse 4. 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 together with Christ. By grace you have been saved and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We came out of that baptismal tank and we were forgiven of our sins. We received God's Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands, and our name was written in the book of life. And Jesus Christ is coming back to this earth with his reward with him. Of course, verse 7, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. Verse 8, 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. And here we're ready to see another reason why we do good works, created in Christ Jesus for good works. You see, when we came out of that baptismal tank, our life was supposed to be different. We were supposed to become, as we'll see in a minute, new creatures in Christ. We were to become something new that rejected the old, but, brethren, sadly many of us have stopped trying. Many of us still cling to the old attitudes of cynicism and sarcasm and negative thinking and that is incompatible with the spirit of Jesus Christ. And we need to understand that. We need to understand before this year's Passover that those kinds of negative attitudes are incompatible with Christianity. Something has to go!

That's very important for us to understand.

Created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Another reason we diligently seek to obey God is not because we believe we're saved by good works, but we want to fulfill a purpose that God gave us. What is that purpose? It's called the fruits of the spirit in contrast to the works of the flesh. And I just ask you, before you ever make a post on the internet or send out emails or say something to someone, does this reflect the fruits of the spirit? Or do they reflect the works of the flesh? Because the works of the flesh are incompatible with Christianity. And we have to turn it up a notch. And we have to stop living in denial and thinking the unacceptable is acceptable and thinking that wrong is right, because it isn't.

Brethren, we have to work on this as a people, as individuals. I have to work on it. You have to work on it. But it's time for us to turn it up a notch and become all that Christ wants us to be. Let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 17.

2 Corinthians 5 and verse 17. Paul wrote here to the Corinthian congregation in his second letter, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new. Have all things become new in our lives? Or are we still clinging on to negativity, to selfishness, to being a hothead, to being spiritually and emotionally immature?

Or are we allowing ourselves to be a new creation? Verse 18. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is an official service to restore something. But I cannot restore anything with you if I am divisive. I can't restore any relationship with you if I am critical, cynical, negative. Reconciliation is impossible, incompatible with those thoughts and with those attitudes. He's given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and is committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, where ambassadors for Christ is though God, we're pleading through us, we implore you in Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. Why is that so important? Because it is virtually impossible for me to be reconciled with you if I haven't first got myself reconciled to God. If I'm angry, I need to talk to God about it. Not take it out on you. If I'm frustrated, if I'm really upset over something, I can't reconcile to you until I get it worked out with God. Reconciling with you is impossible until I get my act right with God. And it's true for all of us. Verse 21, for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. We then, as workers together with him, also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

In the translation God's word for today, it says, whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation.

The old way of living has disappeared. Has it? Or the same thoughts, the same desire to tear everybody down, the same desire to give me attention. Look at me, give me attention.

Is that something that we're still struggling with? It says in this translation, the old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence. If it hasn't come into existence in our lives, who is the problem? God's spirit isn't the problem. Our mates isn't the problem. Our church isn't the problem. We, moi, is the problem if that's not occurring. Are we allowing ourselves to be new creatures? Do you realize that this statement here, that he says, behold, he says in verse 17, behold, all things have become new. Do you realize that's a foretaste of what it says in Revelation chapter 21 and verse 5, what God will do to the whole world. It says that the book of Revelation, behold, I make all things new. It's supposed to start in us, in each and every one of us. It starts right here and hopefully right now, if we haven't been taking our calling as seriously and as committed as we should have been. Let's now go, if you would turn with me, to Matthew chapter 18 and beginning in verse 1. Matthew chapter 18 and verse 1.

I have over the years heard many people cover Matthew chapter 18 verses 1 through 6 and say that it's talking about humility and it is. But if we stop right there, we really miss the whole point. We really do miss the whole point of Matthew chapter 18 and verse 1 because there's more to mine out of this scripture than just saying, oh, we need to be humble like a little child. At that time, the disciples came to Jesus saying, who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Then Jesus called a little child to him, and said him in the midst of them, and said assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted, okay, converted, changed, converted, and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whosoever humbles himself as his little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea. Jesus outlines here another reason why we should diligently seek to obey God, and that is because, like a little child, if you can remember if you're like me, it might be hard to remember your adult children as a little child, but I also have grandchildren to remind me of at this time in my life. And you know what a healthy and balanced little child wants to do? They want to please their dad. They want dad to be proud of them. Those who have God's holy spirit desire to find ways to honor our Father, to make Him proud of us, to enthusiastically serve Him. His Spirit is one of simple submission and zeal to do what is right in the Father's eyes. God's Spirit doesn't produce in us, or should not produce in us, an attitude of how little can I get away with to please God. What's the minimum that I can do to make it into the kingdom of God? It's not the kingdom of God. It doesn't have that kind of attitude. I'd like to tell you something about my children and grandchildren regarding what Jesus said about little children. I brought a prop today.

This was created in 1996, and it's from one of my daughters. I decided to use a daughter who isn't here today, so I wouldn't embarrass her. But it says, Mr. Greg Thomas, also the best dad a kid could have, written by Kathleen. Now, you know that after I commanded her to do this, it only took her 30 minutes. What is my point? My point is that when you have the attitude and humility of a little child, you love your dad with unconditional love. You don't have to be commanded to do things. You want to do things. You have the exuberance and innocence to please mom and dad. You feel joy when you make them proud of you, not because they command it, not because they bark an order to you, but because at that stage in life as a little child, you want to do things that are special. You know, my grandchildren enthusiastically do things just to please me. Totally unasked for. I get pictures. I get cards. I get acknowledgments. I get praise. I don't need to command them to do these things. I don't need to make them feel guilty to do these things. They do them out of a simple exuberance of love towards their grandpa. In a similar way, this is why we should obey God and do good works. And the point that Jesus has here is the attitude of a little child is simple.

They're not old enough yet to be sarcastic and cynical and negative and whining and complaining and poisoning everybody. Life is not yet that complex. It's very simple. I'm here to have fun today. I'm here to play today. They have an innocence. Ever seen I've seen my grandchildren, they get in a terrible fight. Two minutes later, they're playing again. What are adults doing? 15 years later, I don't like him. My grandchildren, two minutes after they had this horrendous blood curdling screams and throwing things, they're playing together. It's forgiven and forgotten because they have that innocence. They haven't been trained yet to be hardened. We've been hardened.

That's not a good thing. We need to go to the throne of grace and not take it out in people, churches, mates, employers. If we've got a problem, we need to go to God and say, God, I've got a problem. That's where our problems belong and not to be aired out to everyone else.

Can we understand that Jesus called this little child as an example and said that we have to become as little children, make life simple, exuberance, zeal, joy, and leave a lot of time for play?

That's so important. Let's go to John chapter 15 and verse 9. John chapter 15 and verse 9. Jesus has a lot on his mind at this point in his life, like maybe facing a horrible death.

But here's what he says that encourages the disciples. And again, I think this ties in with what we just read in Matthew about the simplicity in life. What Paul referred to is the simplicity in Christ. John chapter 15 and verse 9 is, The Father loved me. I also have loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love. Just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full. You mean a man who's facing the terrible torture of his impending death had joy? You bet! He did! And we let something as simple as something doesn't work out the way we expected it to. And we get all bent out of shape and all upset and all angry and worked up over things usually that are beyond our control. But Jesus had joy. Knowing what he's going to face, he says, my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full. Are we joyful?

I can only tell you this. I have learned through personal experience that Greg Thomas cannot be cynical and joyful at the same time. All right? It's impossible. Again, you have that incompatibility. I cannot be negative and be joyful at the same time. It's a contradiction. It doesn't work.

I can't be sarcastic and joyful at the same time. It just does not work.

Something's got to give. And what's got to give is our carnality. Our human nature is what Jesus Christ says has got to give. That's what has to change. Verse 12, this is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this than to lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do whatever I command you. The longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends. That's an intimate relationship. You know, I have a lot of friends. I have friends in God's church. I have friends in the world. And even though I suppose I could command one of my friends to do something, you know I've never commanded a friend to do anything because we have a friendship. If I ask them to do it, most likely they'll do it. If they ask me to do anything, I'll do it for them as long as it isn't unethical, immoral, or illegal. They don't need to command me. Greg, you beat me for lunch at noon, and I mean now! Now, what kind of relationship would that be? Now, if they want me to buy, then maybe we would have a problem there. But my point is that when you have a friend, you don't command friends. You command servants. And God says, look, if that's the way that you want our relationship to be, okay, I command you. If that's the relationship you want to have, fine.

I command you to keep my Sabbaths in holy days. But God says what I prefer is like that innocent little child out of just the sheer joy of pleasing Dad and making Dad proud of me.

That I hope you will say that I want to celebrate God's Sabbaths in holy days, and I want my joy to be filled. And it can only be filled if I eliminate these works of the flesh that are holding me back and poisoning me, poisoning my family, poisoning everyone that I come in contact with. Verse 16, you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit. Are we still bearing fruit, brethren? Or some of us stopped bearing fruit years ago? Did we maybe go on spiritual vacation in those fruit trees now, or just kind of misshapen, unpicked, overgrown, not tended to or nurtured, that you would bear fruit and that your fruit should remain? Not fruit for just the first five years after we called, but that it should remain. That's ongoing, consistent growth from the day when we were plunged into that baptismal tank to when we draw our final breath that Jesus Christ doesn't yet return, that people can look at us, and most importantly, our Father can look at us and say that fruit was consistent and it remained. It wasn't just for a season. It wasn't for five years out of that 40 years they were in the faith. It remained. It was there. And that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give you these things I command you that you love one another. So as a new creature, we should have the innocent enthusiasm to serve God because when we do what God instructs, we're more than just His slaves. He calls us His friends. And His desire is that we have a deep and abiding agape love relationship with the Father. And I'm here to tell you that only when we do that is it possible for us to be reconciled to one another and treat each other like we should. It starts with us and God, and if we have conflict with our brothers or sisters, it's because we have conflict with God that we haven't dealt with yet. Because until we deal with that, everything else is superficial.

Until we deal with getting right with God, and if we're angry, tell God you're angry. If you're bitter, tell God you're bitter. But please don't poison your brothers and sisters in Christ, because that's not compatible with Christianity. It's not compatible with what we have read today.

Let's go to final scripture, Revelation 22 and verse 12.

Revelation 22 and verse 12. This is a scripture that has confused some people because they think that the scripture says that doing good things makes them worthy. Revelation 22.12, And behold, I am coming quickly. Jesus said, And my reward is with me to give to everyone according to His work, to the reward according to our work. It's not the reward of salvation. It's not the reward of eternal life. It's the reward of what office, what role that we will have in the family of God. Verse 13. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates of the city. Now, we need to understand this verse correctly. Obedience to God's commandments doesn't give us the right to the tree of life, and that is not what this scripture is saying. Only the shed blood of Christ and the grace of God gives us the right to the tree of life. But keeping God's commandments, developing the fruits, showing the good works, those things show by our lives that we are a new creation, that we took seriously the fact that Jesus said through Paul that you are a new creation, a new creature in Christ. Obedience shows that we have a living and an active faith. Doing His commandments is evidence that we got it, that we responded to our calling, that we weren't just playing church, that we weren't just coming to Sabbath services every week.

I'm keeping the holy days, but that we responded to our calling and our faithfulness.

And that is so important. And I know I've been kind of strong today, but maybe this balances out a lot of my more positive-oriented sermons that I have. But one of my roles as a pastor is also to give strong meat and is occasionally to do some correction and to say some things that might be hard to hear. But if I ever say anything like that, you need to understand two things. Number one, the first finger is pointed towards Greg Thomas. And usually it's something that I've gone through that's made me create this kind of a message. It's usually me talking to myself for a good part of the message. That's number one. And number two, I would only ever say anything strongly because I love you. And I want you to reach the maximum potential and growth as a new creature in Christ. So in conclusion, does the Church of God teach salvation or justification by works?

Of course, the answer is a resounding no. We never have and we don't do now. We do believe that salvation is a free and undeserved gift given by the grace of God. We do believe that Christians exhibit good works and obedience as evidence of our faith in Christ. We do believe that Christ was the messenger of the new covenant, that his life is to be followed as an example. We do believe that God's commandments and holy days have abiding moral and spiritual value. We understand that they outline the plan of God every one of his holy days. And we keep them every year beyond the fact that God commands them, which he does. But we keep them because as little children with that simplicity, with that zeal and exuberance, the one to please our Father and let him know how much we unconditionally love him, that we want to celebrate his festivals. Just like my grandchildren want to celebrate my anniversaries or my birthdays, they want to be part of it. They want to be there. They want to blow out the candles in the same way we should want to be there for all of our dad's anniversaries and festivals that celebrate not only what he has done, not only what he is doing, but as the festival to reveal what he will do for all mankind.

So, brethren, don't allow the criticisms of others affect the way that you keep the holy days.

Get beyond keeping the holy days just simply because they're commanded. Celebrate God's holy days with joy and confidence, knowing that God is pleased with our desire to obey him. That's all he's ever really wanted was for us to unconditionally with zeal and joy and enthusiasm to worship him, to obey him and develop those ripe, wonderful, good fruits in our lives so that we can glorify his name. Have a great Sabbath!