This Adult Sunday School class
was held on May 24, 1987 at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville,
New Jersey. Now while others are finding
their places, let me extend a very cordial welcome to the unusual
number of visitors who are with us this morning. It's usually
the case on a holiday weekend as a number of our people are
in other places and hopefully visiting churches wherever possible
of like faith and order. Likewise, we have the privilege
of welcoming not a few visitors among us, and we do extend a
cordial welcome to you and trust that your day among us will be
one blessed by the Lord to your spiritual refreshment. Now I
need to give just a word of explanation, particularly for the sake of
our visitors. Pastor Bob Martin, for the past couple of years,
has been taking the major lead in the adult class and guiding
us in a verse-by-verse study of the letter to the Hebrews. And we're drawing near to the
close of that study. We're in the middle part of the
last chapter. But he was away this past week
ministering up in Albany, New York, at our sister church there,
where Pastor Dean Allen and Scott Van Steenburg labor together
in the work of the ministry. And on that occasion, I took
the adult class and we kind of brought everything to a screeching,
awkward halt at about five or seven minutes after the allotted
time. And as I spoke to Pastor Bob
in the light of his own preparation and the demands upon him this
past week, and the way we left things kind of hanging, we came
to the mutual agreement that it would be best for me to carry
on the class today. Now, what we were doing was discussing
together motives to holiness and perseverance in the life
of the child of God. And growing out of several pastoral
contacts with individual members of the congregation, I felt it
was time to address this subject. It is addressed by way of exposition
and application periodically in the regular preaching of the
word, but in a focused, concentrated way. It's been some time since
this question or this issue has been addressed. And so I tried
to lead you in a guided discussion. And in these guided discussions,
our general framework is that I throw out a question and seek
your input and input that is buttressed by chapter and verse.
And we have found by experience that it's the part of wisdom
to limit our discussion to the members of our congregation.
First of all, I can be courteous enough to call upon them by name
and then we can assume that their responses come within the framework
of perspectives with which all of us will feel comfortable and
that do not put the leader in the awkward position of listening
to something that may be very sincere but off the wall. and
then his credibility is both jeopardized on the one hand as
a gentleman and on the other hand as a safe guide in the scriptures
and we've been in those awkward moments before and we like to
avoid them. Well so much by way of that general
introduction and guidelines let us briefly review and then plug
in a couple of things that we omitted last week and then we
will carry on from there into what these strange-looking figures
on the board are meant to represent. We began last week with the question,
in the ultimate and foundational sense, how are the people of
God kept in the way of holiness and obedience? And the answer
that you gave was a fourfold answer, that every true believer,
according to the Word of God, and this is to represent the
Bible, is kept in the way of holiness and obedience because,
number one, you brought forward a series of texts which indicate
that it is God's divine purpose in election that all of those
whom he has marked out for salvation will not only be brought into
the way of life and salvation, but be kept upon the way until
at last they are glorified. And so ultimately then, all of
the people of God are kept in the way because of God's divine
purposes, His gracious electing design. And then secondly, and
this is where you are most slow, so it indicates to me maybe we
need some preaching in this area, to underscore that the death
of Christ itself secured the ultimate salvation of all the
people of God. and there were several pivotal
text Romans chapter 8 verses 34 and following and then of
course the pivotal text Ephesians 5 25 and following passages which
clearly teach that Jesus Christ did not die simply to make some
men savable, or all men savable, or some men saved for a time,
but He died to present all those who were given to Him by the
Father to present them in the last day without spot or wrinkle
in the very presence of God. And then you brought forward
as the third reason why we are kept in the way The ministry
of the Holy Spirit, several key texts, Ephesians 4, 30, Romans
8, 9 to 11, and the Spirit's ministry is one which, once begun
in a saving way in the human heart, in applying the virtue
of the death of Christ, once the Spirit is given, He is never
withdrawn. But in the last day, that Spirit
will Himself even quicken these mortal bodies when we are glorified
and our redemption is completed. And then fourthly, you brought
forward several key passages which indicate that the intercession
of Christ secures our being kept in the way. Hebrews 7.25, several
passages in Romans chapter, sorry, in Hebrews 7.25, John chapter
17, and then also out of Romans 8.34 we deduce the same truth.
Now, there was a fifth one that, in a sense, overarches all of
these that we did not mention. And between Sunday School and
church, one of the other elders mentioned it, and I want to plug
it in. And this is the fifth, or we
might even say the overarching, ultimate reason as to why all
of the people of God are preserved in the way of faith and holiness
and will be ultimately glorified And that's found in Jeremiah
32, 37 to 40. Now, what we call this is a matter,
I believe, of liberty, discretion. You may want to call it God's
sworn promise, His inviolable covenantal oath. You can pile
up the words, but whatever words you use, they should be words
that underscore that Almighty God is committed by sworn commitment
that if he ever puts us in the way, he will keep us on the way
even unto the end. Jeremiah chapter 32. Did I say 37? Okay, all right. 32 and then beginning with verse
37. Behold, I will gather them out
of all the countries whither I have driven them in my anger
and in my wrath and in great indignation. And I will bring
them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely."
Now this framework of God's promise of mercy under the new covenant
is very frequently repeated in the prophets. They speak of the
ultimate blessings of redemption in terms of God gathering his
people together out of the land. And notice what he says he will
do. And they will be my people and I will be their God. And
I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me
forever for the good of them and of their children after them. And I will make an everlasting
covenant with them that I will not turn away from following
them to do them good. And I will put my fear in their
hearts that they may not depart from me." So here you have God's
sworn oath, His covenantal commitment that having gathered His people,
He will so work in them that their perseverance will be assured
by the commitment of God Himself. So add that to your list in answer
to question number one, in the ultimate and foundational sense,
how are we or why are we kept in the way? Then I asked the
second question, and that question was this. In the outworking of
God's preserving grace, which is certain resting upon these
five pillars or these four pillars, bound together by this fifth
principle of divine revelation, my question was, are we, as the
kept, active or are we passive? And you answered very emphatically,
and the scriptures came out of the woodwork, that we are indeed
most active. We do not simply go into the
holy float. and let God's faithfulness and
the virtue of the death of Christ and the work of the Spirit float
us on to heaven while bypassing the engagement of our minds,
our wills, our affections, our judgment, our susceptibility
to motives of various kinds. And you brought forward a number
of scriptures, some of the pivotal ones, Philippians 2, 12, and
13, June 23, I have in my notes, Keeping Yourselves in the Love
of God, Romans 8, 13, If you by the Spirit, and many others. Now, I then made an assertion
before asking question three, and my assertion was that in
this process of the activity of the believer, by which God
is fulfilling His own commitment to preserve us, One of the major
factors, now notice I didn't say the major factor, but one
of the major factors in the believer's actively committing himself to
a life of perseverance is to be found in the area of the motives
which impinge upon his mind and heart to keep in the way of holiness
and obedience. that God impresses upon our hearts
motives. We are not acted upon like robots,
but we are active in terms of feeling the pressure of motives
which persuade us all along the way to make proper choices in
the direction of holiness and obedience and against sin, selfishness,
the world, and the way of death, so that there is absolutely no
contradiction when the scripture tells us we are kept by the power
of God, and the scripture says, he that endures to the end, the
same shall be saved. Well then, having made that assertion,
I then ask you what are some of the major motives that are
set forth in the Word of God by which the people of God are
to be influenced in their perseverance in the way of holiness and obedience.
Now, without repeating all the verses, those of you who were
here, tell us what were some of those motives that you mentioned
and buttressed with Scripture. All right? That's a bona fide
question. I want you to pick up the review now, and we'll
quickly list some of the motives. All right, Jet? All right, the
fear of hell. Another motive. All right, Jerry?
All right, a long life. Gary? Fear of displeasing Christ. All right. All right, the fear
of God. All right, some other motives
that were mentioned. We've got four. All right, Norm?
All right, fear of bringing reproach
upon the name of Christ. Some more. Remember them? You
can take a quick look at your notes if you want to. All right,
Rob? Love of God, particularly. Yes, the love of Christ. All
right. Another? Louise? All right. The motive of seeking
to be of positive influence in the conversion of sinners. Psalm
51. Lord, do this, do this, do this,
then. shall sinners be converted unto thee. Alright? Other motives
that were mentioned. Alright, David? Alright, out of the book of Proverbs,
this whole list of motives, the fear of bringing reproach to
mother and to father, the fear of bringing reproach and harm
to ourselves, the warnings against an immoral life, in which the
father tells his son, it'll rot your body, it'll ruin your name,
it'll land you in hell. He piles up all of these motives
and then giving motives to recognizing the Lord's portion. Honor the
Lord with thy substance and the firstfruits of all thine increase
social. Thy barns be filled with plenty
and thy vats shall overflow with new wine. Proverbs 3, I believe
that's 11 and 12. All right, any other motives
that we mentioned last week? All right, John? All right, pleasing
God's servants. Paul says, if there's any consolation
in Christ, if there's any dissonance, make my joyful and do this. If
you want to make me happy, then live this way. Obviously, a legitimate
motive for believers to act in such a way that they know it
will make their spiritual overseers happy. Very fundamental motive. We find it in the book of 1 John,
We find it very wisely woven into the very texture of the
letter to Philemon in very subtle ways at some points. All right,
any other motives that were mentioned? I think you've pretty well covered
the ones that we mentioned. Now, what we want to do this
morning, and this is where you've got to put your thinking caps
on, it was suggested again by one of the brethren that perhaps
it would be helpful Since the Bible does not anywhere gather
all of these motives into three chapters and then outline them
into four categories, it would be lovely if that were there,
wouldn't it? And you turn up motives for perseverance. So
that's why I'm going to go for my devotions this morning. So
I go to 2 Hezekiah chapters 4, 7, and 9. And it would be wonderful, but
God hadn't done it that way. Well, we think it would be wonderful,
but it isn't. If it were, God would have done it that way if
that were in our best interest. But there's a better way. They
are scattered throughout the Word of God, both in history,
biography, in what we might call the more didactic sections, where
teaching is brought forward, where warnings are given in the
midst of prophecy, we find these things scattered throughout the
Word of God. Now, what we've done is we've
sort of gone by with a bucket, and as our memories have brought
them to remembrance, we've just thrown them in from wherever
we found them in the Word of God. Now, let's try to dump them
out on the table. and having dumped them out on
the table, let's see if we can sort them out into certain categories
where at least they have similar colors and shapes and smells,
all right? That's what we're going to try
to do, to use the imagery. So we're going to sort them out
and we're going to put them into the pie. And the reason I put
them in the pie, and this came as I was working on it, this
was not, the suggestion of the pie came from one of my fellow
welders, He didn't suggest to have it a rotating pie. But the
more I thought about it, the more I thought, this is the way
it works. If we have them in their various categories, at
any given point in our Christian experience, as we walk with the
Lord, as we meditate upon the Word, these motives are like
a rotating pie, and at any given point, The Spirit of God, through
our regular reading of the Word, or by bringing to remembrance
something read before, will highlight one category of motives. And
maybe a half an hour later, the wheel spins around and this segment
of motives brings its pressure to bear upon us. And that's why
we don't want to put them in a list of descending importance,
but we want to put them into an integrated pie, because the
God who is committed to keep us in the way, has wisely given
the whole pie of motives, the rotating pie, as the instrument
that he will use in great measure to motivate us unto a life of
holiness and obedience. So if God put all the slices
in the pie, then he knows we need them all. So you see the
error of saying, well, this one is spiritual, therefore I'll
only wait when this spiritual motive turns around. If God is
bringing to your remembrance a very earthy, seemingly unspiritual
motive, and you reject that motive, you know what you're doing? You're
resisting and grieving the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is
bringing that motive to bear upon you and shining the light
on that motive, and God put it in His Word, and you say, well,
that's not spiritual enough. You're telling God you're wiser
about how to keep you in the way than He is. Now, that's pride. All under the guise of being
very spiritual. But it's stinking, rotten pride. God is smarter than you are to
know how to keep you in the way. You see that? You see that? Okay. All right. So now you see
why we got a rotating pie. We do all kinds of strange things
around here. But so long as it helps us to
understand the Word of God, that's all right. Okay. Now, would you
be prepared to suggest of all these various motives that were
listed, some general categories under which we could range three
or four, maybe more? Of all the motives that are mentioned,
would you like to at least suggest what one category might be? Who will be bold? All right,
Chet, you're going to be bold this morning. Carpet cleaners
are bold. When you can come into our messy homes and clean our
carpets. All right, Chet. All right. Motives for the life
that is now might be a possible category. All right, let's hold
that here and see if maybe that does not itself fit under. That
certainly does gather some together, doesn't it? good health, the
matter of a good name, pleasing our parents here and now. Some
of them could be motives for the life that is now. All right? Anyone else want to suggest a
category? All right, Jeff, way in the back.
All right, the motive of fear. Would you want to break that
down? Fear is so Broad. Fear of God, fear of hell, fear
of the consequences of my sin. That's so general that that would
gather up too many. We'd end up sorting out that
category. Do you think we could sort that
out? Alright, the fear of God. And how would you, in using the
term, how are you using that term, the fear of God? Fear of
Him as an impartial, All right, the fear of him as a father,
all right, so filial fear, that fears to displease a loving father,
okay? Some other category, and obviously
fear would have another major category, is fear of the consequences
of sin now and in the world to come. All right, some other categories. All right, David? All right,
the glory of God. what what makes you think that's
big enough to be a major category y'all catch that you are not david swan song is
last sunday with us and he came up with a winner like that when
when i asked him why is the category of the glory of god Why should
that be a separate category? It says God is big enough to
have his own category. Now, we'd like to hook that into
a couple of scriptures for us, Dave. Alright, and what text takes
in the totality of life taking its springboard from a very mundane
aspect of life, namely eating and drinking, and uses that to
say, if in this littlest area where we're most like the animals
were to glorify God, how much more in every area? Have I suggested
the text now? All right. 1 Corinthians 10.31. Whether, therefore, you eat or
drink or what? whatsoever you do, do all to
the glory of God. Now the words whatsoever and
all in that context are as broad as their normal usage. Whatsoever you do, do all to
the glory of God. Now many of us can remember as
young Christians, and I don't know if this is emphasized as
much today. In fact, I'm quite certain it
isn't. Those of you of my generation, if I may use that terminology,
who had the privilege of at least being in the nurture of general
evangelicalism as young Christians, what was one of the first rules
that was given to us when we were wrestling with what shall
I and what shall I not do as a Christian? What was one of
the first rules given to us? Mr. Becker, did you have it given
to you in your circles? Okay, all right, someone else
of my generation. Mr. Bischoff, did you have it
given to you in your circles? All right, what I'm fishing for,
all right, Elaine? Yes, you remember that? We were
told, here's a good little rule of thumb. If you don't know if
you should do this, this, or the other, ask yourself, before
you do it, can you say, oh God, I joyfully glorify you in this
activity. And I can remember that being
impressed upon me with the question about smoking, drinking, going
to the theater. Now granted, those things had
perhaps an undue emphasis in those areas, but they had some
legitimate place. You know, we don't want the pendulum
to go to the place where we think that those are matters of total
indifference. And we were impressed with this. Can I go into that
place and say, Lord Jesus, I glorify you? by going into this place. I glorify you by taking this
thing into my fingers and sucking it into my lungs. I glorify you
by taking this upon my lips and swallowing it." And that was
a great help to many of us as young Christians to think in
every situation where you had a chance to think an issue through.
Now, many times you don't, but in situations where you were
wrestling with, shall I or shall I not, this great concern the
glory of God, for when all is said and done, the answer of
the old catechism is indeed a distillation of the teaching of the Bible.
What is man's chief end? In other words, what in the world
is man here for above all else? And the answer is to glorify
God and to enjoy Him forever. You see how God-centered that
answer is? Man's chief end is not to be
happy, happy all the time. or to have his own goods secured
all the time. It is to glorify God and to enjoy
Him forever. And we could bring here a number
of passages, particularly in the epistles, in which this is
underscored that the glory of God is one of those great major
slices in the pie of motivation. All right? Some others now that
we want to list here and then see how they just fit. Another
category of motivation. Someone else bold enough to venture
an answer? Yes. All right. The future glory of the saints. All right. We're running out
of space here. OK, let's. The future glory of
the saints. Now, would that be a major category
or would that fit under another broader category? Sorry. The future glory of the saints.
What is that called in the Bible? One word. Hope. Hope. The focal point of
the biblical doctrine of hope is the certain future glory that
the saints will share with Christ. We are saved in hope. But hope that is realized is
not hope. But what we don't yet have, then we with patience wait
for it. All right, let's put that to
the side for a minute and see maybe it ought to be a major
one. All right, some other categories. All right, Truett? Love to Christ
as a separate category. All right, what other things
would fit under that? If we put love to Christ, Or
is that itself part of a bigger category? All right. All right. As being God. All
right. Love to God. Love to Christ. All right. All right. The love of Christ
constrains me. That was one of the passages
that came up last week. And the love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given unto us. If you
love me, you will keep my commandments. If any man love not our Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. All right? But I got a suspicion
that maybe that fits under a broader category. It begins with the
word G. All right, Norman? That's it. All right. Gratitude to God for
mercies received. Now let's see how that works
out. Gratitude to God for mercies received. Okay? Now, how does
that gratitude express itself? Well, if you look at the passage
like Luke chapter 7, Luke chapter 7, very familiar
incident to many of us, I'm sure. woman with a very checkered reputation
appears in a Pharisee's house. And she appears there not because
the Pharisee was like flypaper to women with checkered reputation.
No, Pharisees were like flyswatters, not flypaper to such people. But it was the Lord Jesus who
was there who was the attraction. Please turn to side two for the
second half of this message. Extreme devotion to the Lord
Jesus Christ, and this upsets the Pharisees. Man, if he knew
who in the world was doing this, he'd have nothing to do with
her. I mean, holy men don't have anything to do with her likes.
Well, the Lord interprets the whole thing, and we don't want
to read the whole passage, but this is what is crucial to the
matter we're dealing with. Notice now verse 47. Wherefore
I say unto you, Luke 7, 47, her sins which are many are forgiven
for she loved much. The evidence that she is a forgiven
sinner in the court of heaven and in the consciousness of her
own heart. The evidence, not the ground.
This is not the ground on which we are forgiven. Love a lot and
you'll get forgiven. Where does the Bible teach that?
No, this is the evidence that she was forgiven. In the court
of heaven and in the court of her own heart, that she was tasting
the sweetness of forgiveness, I say unto you, her sins which
are many are forgiven, for she loved much, but to whom little
is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her,
now to send her away with an undeniable capstone upon that
which she already knew in her heart, and was expressing by
her love, Jesus gives his own word, thy sins are forgiven. So you see, her gratitude for
the mercy of forgiveness was that which produced her love
to Christ. What other things then would
come under this category of gratitude for mercies received? Love to
Christ, love to God who sent the Son, love to the Father who
is revealed through the Son. When we say God, we say so as
Trinitarians, so it is the triune God whom we love. How else will
gratitude for mercies received express itself? Love to God revealed
in Christ. How else? All right, Pastor Bob. A life of principle obedience.
And where do we see the connection between gratitude and a life
of principle obedience? Can you give us a text? All right. Cliff? All right, so flowing out of
love, which is an expression of our gratitude or an accompaniment
of the gratitude. There will be a life of obedience.
May I commend to you, just read through the 119th Psalm and you'll
come up with a whole arm load of verses, alright? Where the
connection between gratitude and a life of principled obedience
is shown again and again. Gratitude for prayers answered
intensifies the desire to pray. I love the Lord because He hath
heard my voice and attended unto my supplications. Therefore,
Will I call upon him as long as I live? Psalm 116. All right,
some other expressions of gratitude for mercies received. Things
that fit under this category, Belden? All right, love to the
people of God. Now, how, what's the, is that
another category we're dealing with or under gratitude? Under
gratitude. All right, now, where does the
Bible link those things together? Okay, the intimate connection
between Christ and His people, indicated in a passage like Matthew
25. Alright? Another passage, two
or three other passages, where this is stamped right on the
face of things. Yes, Jim? All right, this would be good
under the matter of a life of principled obedience. I beseech
you, therefore, by the mercies of God, feeling the pressure
of gratitude for mercies received, present your bodies a living
sacrifice, live a life utterly devoted to God, rejecting the
molding influence of the world, constantly subjecting yourself
to the transforming influence of God to do the good, acceptable
and perfect will of God. That's a good verse for there.
But now under this third one about how it will cause us to
relate to our brethren. Yes, Pastor Nichols. Ephesians
4, 31 to 5. There we are. That's the passage
I had in mind. You want to read it for us? Ephesians
4, 31 through the first part of chapter 5. Let all bitterness
and wrath and anger and clamor and railing be put away from
you with all malice. And be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving each other, even as God also in Christ
forgave you. Be therefore imitators of God,
as beloved children, and walk in love, even as Christ also
loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice
to God for an odor of a sweet smell. So here the apostle is
saying, as God has dealt with you in mercy, And with a heart
suffused with the consciousness of the greatness of His mercy
to you, you reflect that in your dealings with your brethren. That's why John goes on to be
bold to say, if anyone professes to know God in Christ and has
a settled, unrepented pattern of ill will to his brethren,
He's a murderer, and eternal life does not abide in him, and
he's a liar, and he doesn't know God. That's strong language. But that's what the Bible says.
And it's not just John. Jesus said it in Matthew 18.
He said, if you profess to be forgiven, and you are not a forgiver,
you're self-deceived. and you'll be dealt with by your
tight-fisted, narrow-hearted attitude by God the same way
you've dealt with others. That's what you'll receive. So
shall my Heavenly Father do to every one of you if you do not
forgive every man his brother from the heart. Now that's blunt
language, dear people, but that's the Bible. And so No Christian
is devoid of gratitude for mercies received, utterly devoid of it.
There are degrees of it. Therefore, no Christian can,
as a settled disposition of heart, live in hatred to his brethren.
Can't do it. And if you live in hate, you
live in darkness. That's the teaching of the Bible.
And John sets it in black and white either-or categories in
a way that presses us to the wall to ask, well, am I really
living in the light of the mercies of God to me in Christ? If so,
there'll be love for God, a life of principle obedience, a life
of love to the brethren. I'm sure we could expand that,
but we do want to fill in some more pieces of the pie, some
other major categories. All right, Mr. Bischoff. that
we must all stand for the judgment seat of Christ according to the
second Corinthians 5, and that we must all be made manifest
before the judgment of Christ, that each one may receive the
things done in the body according to what he hath done, whether it be good
or bad. And in connection with that, every earnest and sincere Christian,
as we seek to live that Christian life, And we want to obey Christ, and
we know we go through the battles and the temptations of life.
We know what sin is and how that grieves the Lord. The one thing
we want to hear more than anything else with all of our heart is
for Christ to say, well done, how good and thank you, Lord.
Amen. So you'd be willing to say that's
a slice in itself, that the recognition that we will stand before God
as an impartial judge, All right, I think I'd be prepared to stick
it as a major piece, and we'll put in a couple of the verses
we brought from last week, all right? So how will we express
that? The glory of God, gratitude for mercies received. How should
we express that? The what? What should we call
it? Help me out, Professor. I think it's an aspect of the
fear of God. All right. So you would say it's
to be subsumed under this broader category of the fear of God.
Yeah. Yes. Well, yeah, we'll give you permission
to do so, Ed. All right. The fact that we have
a changed life. Yes, this would certainly want
to be, we're going to come to a category that fits into that
general description. But let's stick on this for a
minute. And I think as I wrestled with this and Pastor Nichols
and I even kicked it back and forth earlier before this morning,
that there are different ways of defining the fear of God.
But if we limit the fear of God to those aspects, those aspects
of our relationship to God that particularly conceive of Him
as Lawgiver, as Judge, but who is now our Father, but He doesn't
cease to be Judge. 1 Peter 1 makes that very plain. If you pass the time of your
sojourning here, He says, no, if you call on Him as Father,
who judges? every man, according to his works,
past the time of your sojourning in fear. So the Father has not
ceased to be the judge. Now, for the unconverted, God's
only judge, that's all. Pure, unmixed, threatening judge. To us, he is Father and judge. All right? And you see how that
comes out in the motivation that Paul mentions? We must all appear. Let me finish, and then I'll
take your question, please. Let me finish. Seeing hands going
up while I'm talking distracts, okay? So where am I now? All right,
2 Corinthians 5. And knowing therefore the terror of the Lord,
we persuade men, follows on the heels of we shall all be made
manifest before the judgment seat of Christ. When Paul is
charging Timothy in 2 Timothy 2, what does he try to press
on him? I charge you in the sight of God and of the Lord Jesus,
who shall what? Judge the living and the dead
by his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the word. All of the parables
that Jesus gives to underscore faithfulness all take us into
the realm when the householder comes back and there's accountability
between him and his stewards, and either says, well done, good
and faithful steward, or depart from the wicked, slothful man,
etc. So, if we limit the fear of God
to that dimension of our relationship to God and God's relationship
to us, in which we conceive of Him as the one in whose presence
we constantly live, all things are naked and open before Him,
all actions and thoughts and words have moral content and
moral accountability. By thy words thou shalt be justified,
by thy words thou shalt be condemned, every idle word that men shall
speak." If we limit the fear of God to that ballpark of concern,
then that brings within it many of these motives that we've mentioned. The desire to hear his well done,
the dread of displeasing him, of bringing grief and shame to
his name, etc. All right? So we have that aspect
of the fear of God. Now, another major category of
motivation, and to pick up on the thread of what Ed has suggested,
let me just state it and then you'll begin to think of all
of the various passages that come to bear. I've called it
the consciousness of our own identity Consciousness of our
own identity as the people of God. Now, can you think of verses
where this is brought forward as motivation? Think of what
you are and let that motivate you to a certain kind of lifestyle. All right? Alright, Romans 6
and 7, certainly Paul again and again in Romans 6 says, don't
you know? Don't you know what you are and who you are? You
are someone who in faith union with Christ have undergone a
spiritual experience in which you've died with Christ, you've
been buried with Christ, you've been raised to newness of life.
Let the consciousness of that regulate you. Reckon yourself,
indeed, to be what you are. And if you are one in whom sin's
dominion has been broken, live accordingly. All right? Another
passage that underscores that. Yes. Alright, good passage, 1
Corinthians 6. Alright, read it for us. All right, here in 1 Corinthians
6 you have many examples of that. Our brother Kenny has picked
up on the last part, but if you even go up further, he's dealing
with the subject of fornication and how to be armed against it.
And he says in verse 15, Don't you know your bodies are members
of Christ? Shall I take away the members
of Christ and make them members of a harlot? He's saying, look,
the next time you're tempted to go up into one of those temple
prostitutes on the way up of the steps, stop and say, wait
a minute, this body is united to Christ. I'm implicating Christ
in what I'm contemplating to do. Is that motive enough to
get you to turn around and come down the steps and beat it? That's
what he's saying to them. He said, I implicate Christ.
Don't you know that he is joined to a harlot as one body? For
the two said he shall become one flesh. And then here he says,
don't you know your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? Consciousness
of your own identity. You're a living temple of God.
You are in living union with Christ. You have entered in with
Christ to the power, the liberating power of his death, burial, and
resurrection to newness of life. Romans chapter 6. A couple of
other key passages that bring in another whole motif in the
New Testament. Bruce? All right, Galatians 2.20, certainly
would, I think it would be a supportive text. I'm fishing for a whole,
it's a major category. All right, Lamar? All right, this text that we
looked at several weeks ago is a clear example of this. But
you are, 1 Peter 2.9, here's your identity, an elect race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of possession, in order
that you may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of
darkness into marvelous light. Now, after that, what does he
say? Verse 11, Beloved, I beseech
you. as sojourners and pilgrims abstain
from fleshly lust which war against the soul, having your behavior
seemly, besetting in terms of what you are. Be what you are
and let people see what you are. Let me tell you what I was fishing
for, because we're coming down to your home base. It's the whole
beautiful concept of the Christian as a new man in Christ. And notice
how this is put forward for motivation. In Colossians chapter 3, he says
in verse 5, put to death therefore your members which are upon the
earth, and then he lists them, and then he says, though you
once lived in those things, you no longer live in them as your
way of life, but put away all the last remnants, verse 8, put
away Anger, wrath, railing, shameful speaking out of your mouth, don't
lie one to another. Why? Seeing you have put off
the old man with his doings and have put on the new man. You are a new man, a new woman
in Christ. Let the details of your lifestyle
indicate that that putting off of the old and the putting on
of the new is real and that this putting on of the new is the
putting on of the new man that is undergoing a process of renewal
into more and more conformity to the image of God and the image
of Christ. So the consciousness of our own
identity, so every time you read a passage that says this is what
you are, You need to stop and pray, Lord, help me to lay hold
of that, that this is not just poetic language. When the Bible
says I'm a new man in Christ, that's reality. Oh Lord, help
me to live out that reality. When I'm about to say something,
let me ask, is that an expression of a new man in Christ or And
I apologize to whoever had his hand raised, because my own conscience
smites me as I ask the question. That irritation was an expression
of an old man in Adam, and I'm sorry. That's what it was. That's Albert N. Martin in the
remnants of the old man in Adam. Now, whoever had his hand raised,
he may have something repentant to do for not having enough social
grace to wave his hand while I'm talking, but that's his problem.
You see? But my irritation is mine and
I am sincerely sorry for that. And I've lifted up my heart and
asked the Lord to forgive me. And I ask you as a class that
was not exemplary. That's not the forbearance of
the new man in Christ. You see? So when you start asking
yourself questions like that, it starts coming home. You see? And you pray in those things.
And when you read, we are. pilgrims in sojourn, you say,
Lord, that means this is not my resting place. So what's the
big deal if I drop a dozen eggs today? I'm a sojourner. What in the world will that mean
in heaven? So why should I get all upset, get the family all
upset, and make nothing but fuel for repentance, fussing over
a dozen eggs that fell on the floor and seven of them broke
right out, three of them cracked, and only 732 came out on stage. What's the big deal? What's the
big deal? I'm a soldier. And say, how will
I look at this when I'm in heaven? Will this be the big deal I'm
making it now? And that can release you from all kinds of present
distresses to say, how will I look at this from heaven? That's been
a great means of grace to me over the years, when something
is beginning to loom so big, some little piddling thing. I
stop and I say, wait a minute, how will I look at this when
I'm in heaven in a few years? Well, if I think it all of it,
I'll look back and laugh and say, you jerk. You stupid idiot. Hey, you were on your way to
glory and you let a thing like that get you all unstuck. Shame
on you. So say shame on you now and turn
away from it. Pastor Nichols. On this particular
point, I think that it's something that We spoke about your generation
before. I think it's something that my
generation is a desperate need to come to grips with. Who are
we? Why were we made? What happened
to us? What are we doing here? And so
if I may, I would like to suggest some things about this. Yes,
you may. Some categories that fit under
that whole idea. It'll get better on. It'll get
better on here. And I'm going to have to repeat it. Okay. As you would that others do under
you, I don't want to get in trouble with the tape man. I apologize
for that now. Go ahead. The first one is that we were
created in the image of God, and we have the dignity of being
God's image bearers, created in God's image. cosmic junk. That's one way to put it. We
didn't evolve from apes, etc. but we're created in God's image
and therefore we have this whole responsibility and dignity to
imitate God and to be like God and that ought to motivate us
to be holy. The second thing is we're fallen
creatures, we're sinners. You think of Titus chapter, I
think it's three? Yes, for we ourselves... To put
them in mind, to be obedient, to be humble, ready unto every
good work. For we also were once foolish.
We also were once like that. Don't forget what we were. Because
what we were motivates us to be Christ-like. And then with
regard to the new work, I think you can think of it in two things.
Conversion into Christian life. The profound change that took
place in our hearts once for all in conversion, that should
always motivate us. Like Romans 6, the significance
of our baptism should motivate us. The purpose of our regeneration
and the work that God did in our hearts, that should motivate
us. And then the Christian life,
the very fact that we have walked in a life of obedience to the
Lord for one, two, three, four, five years. I think of this passage
in Philippians that uses our obedience in the Christian life,
in Philippians 2, to motivate us to continue. The very key
text in Philippians 2.12, So then, beloved, even as you have
always obeyed, not in my presence only, but now much more in my
absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for
it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good
pleasure. It appeals to the fact that they
have always obeyed. It appeals to their sanctification
and to the obedience of their ongoing Christian life, as a
motive to continue in obedience. Why should I forsake the Lord
now, after I've obeyed Him for so many years? Amen. And right
on to chapter 3, where it says, by the rule we have walked, let
us walk by that same rule. So you can think in terms of
creation, our previous life as sinners, once for all wonderful
work of conversion and the ongoing work of the Christian life and
all those things as to who we are to motivate us to be holy
and to persevere. Amen. All right now our time
is gone believe it or not and I do want to add one more category
which is a catch-all for many. Now these are not the complete
categories we leave to you now to complete this and maybe with
pastoral input over the next months and years if the Lord
spares us. Out of your interaction will
come a series of sermons. It won't be the first time that's
happened. But I'd like to put one evident category that no
one has mentioned, and that is legitimate self-interest. Now, this is where some people
really get hung up. They say, self-interest? That's
not spiritual. Well, not according to God. God
says, would you see good life, long life? Remember we looked
at 1 Peter last week, and he quotes out of the Psalms, refrain
your lips from speaking evil and guile and the rest, and God
says it's the way of blessedness. All of the motives that come
out of the book of Proverbs, the whole matter of personal
dignity as opposed to shame, the matter of well-being, it
shall be health to thy navel and marrow to thy bones. The
best way to have good health in the ordinary course of God's
providence is not only to have a modicum of understanding of
how God has made us and to eat healthfully, to exercise as much
as is necessary for us, to keep ourselves from becoming flabby
in our hearts, becoming our physical hearts, from becoming underworked
or overworked muscles and weak, etc. But apart from those things,
the best prescription for good health is a life of holiness. Because holiness is what we were
made for, not unholiness. So in terms of legitimate self-interest,
The matter of receiving a full reward is mentioned in the New
Testament. The whole matter of the approbation
of God. Many things come under legitimate
self-interest, even the matter of escaping the terrors of hell.
Fear not them who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul, but
fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Now that's
self-interest, but it's legitimate self-interest. So when you come
across those motives, don't be more spiritual than God. Pray
them in as well as these motives of gratitude for the mercies
of God, living to the glory of God, walking in the fear of God,
living in the consciousness of our identity as the people of
God. Well, I hope this gives you fuel
for meditation. I hope you'll carry it with you
into your devotions. You who are heads of households,
when you come across these passages with your children, bear down
upon their consciences with these things. Seek to enter into discussion
with them and draw them out to say, all right, if this is so,
what difference will that make on the playground? What difference
will that make when you go upstairs into your room to do your homework
assignment? If you believe God is watching
you, and how you do it either brings God's smile or God's crown. Will that make any difference
in the way you do your homework? You see, teaching and cultivating
this sense of living under the eye of God is not something that
comes like that. And so let me urge upon you in
your own personal devotions As you read through the scriptures,
wherever you find any strand of these categories of motivation,
note them. If you want to start taking a
purple pencil and putting M in the margin every time you come
across motive, do anything you need to do to highlight these
things and to pray them in. And then in your own family worship,
because remember, As God preserves us in the way we are active,
and no little part in our activity is the exposure to and the absorption
of and the working out of these motives, these manifold motives
to a life of holiness and obedience given to us in the Scriptures.
Well, I trust God will wonderfully and powerfully work these things
in us and make these two weeks of study of permanent profit
to all of us. Let us pray together. Our Father, we thank you for
your holy word. We thank you for every provision
that has been made for us in the grace and in the gift of
your Son. And we thank you that even now
we have the assurance that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses
us from all sin. And even as we have sought to
engage our minds with your word, we've been made conscious, Lord,
that sin is always at our elbow, yea, near as our next breath. Oh, Lord, teach us to walk carefully
before you, ever cleansed in the blood of your Son, ever filled
with the joy of knowing that when sin is confessed, we are
cleansed and we are privileged to walk on in the joyful sense
of communion with you. Thank you for this time together,
for the contribution of your people. Lord, write these great
principles upon our hearts and continue to feed them in our
hearts as we feed upon your word. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.