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God and You Part 2

God and You Part 2

Update: 2020-10-04
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I would like for you for just a moment to think back in time. Think back to the time when you became a Christian. Think back to that time when you knew that God had done something in your life. Think back to that time when you first took notice that your thinking and your desires began to change. And as best as you can remember when you became a Christian, did you immediately become like Christ? Say why of course not. Good answer. James Montgomery Boyce wrote in his commentary on this passage, he said, "When a person comes to the truth of the gospel, he is not much different from what he was in the moments before he believed. He has heard the gospel preached and has responded to it. Before he believed he was filled with misconceptions about God and himself. He had problems that he could not solve. He was doing many things that were against the will of God. After he believes these things are usually exactly the same. He still has the same problems, the same misconceptions, the same sins, sometimes even the same doubts. But it now begins to dawn on him, that many of these things must change. He now has the Holy Spirit within his heart. And as he responds to the work of the Holy Spirit, he begins to see that the salvation he already has must express itself in action. It must be seen distinctly in his conduct."

Now, what pastor Boyce is referring to is our sanctification. When God brought us the faith in Christ, he did so in order to make us like Christ. Therefore, our conduct, as Pastor Boyce says, must change. Now, I'm a realist. The struggle to change is a real one. The struggle to change is a real one and it's a real hard one. Unfortunately, there are believers who never seem to change. Despite all the prayers offered on their behalf, despite the sermons they hear, preach, despite the time they spend in discipleship, despite their faithfulness and attending church, they never seem to make much progress in becoming like Jesus. So I asked myself, could the reason be that they struggle to change, that they never seem to make much progress in becoming like Christ is really, we can pinpoint it very simply, could it be a simple lack of effort? Now, I want to be charitable here. I do want to allow for the possibility that a professing Christian's lack of effort could be the result of poor teaching on sanctification or perhaps no teaching on sanctification. Perhaps they've never heard Philippians 2:12-13 in the way that they should hear it. I will allow for the possibility, as we talked about three weeks ago, that they are of the persuasion, perhaps they've been taught this way, that all that they have to do is to let go and let God. They just have to sit back and let God do all of the work. But I find that mindset hard to justify, if not impossible to justify, based upon what the Apostle Paul teaches right here. And if I may be so bold, I believe it'll be hard for you to justify holding that position based upon what you've already heard and what you will hear both this week and the next.

Sanctification is a matter of obedience

Now, as I said three weeks ago last time I preached-- and I thank Ben for helping out the past couple of weeks-- sanctification is a matter of obedience. Sanctification is a matter of obedience. So as the Apostle Paul begins verse 12, what does he address? He addresses the subject of their obedience. He reminds them that their lives were characterized by obedience in the past and he encourages them to continue to be obedient despite the fact that he is not physically present with them at that present time. So your obedience, the believer's obedience, is a sign of your conversion. I know that's radical in today's church world. But apart from obedience, there is no conversion. Say now that's awful harsh. Well, take it up with Jesus, Jesus said, "Why do you call me Lord, yet you don't do anything that I say?" And what do you follow that up with? "Depart from me I never knew you." I never knew you in a saving way. So your obedience is a sign of conversion.

So I want to emphasize this again, working out your own salvation is the process of becoming like Christ. Working out your own salvation is synonymous with sanctification. Now notice Paul does not say work for your salvation. Neither does Paul say work in your salvation. Paul says you are to work out your salvation. Well, what exactly does that mean? Well, in very broad strokes, if I can do it, say it this way this morning, we'll look at more detail next week. Working out your salvation is the process of you becoming the person God saved you to be. Working out your salvation requires that you be an active participant in your sanctification. Working out your salvation means that you are actively cooperating with the work of the Holy Spirit as he changes your character and your understanding of the world. You cannot separate sanctification from your obedience. But if we're honest, we struggle to obey don't we? We have the best of intentions to obey. But when push comes to shove, guess what gets shoved out of the way? Our best intentions. Would you know this? Your flesh is a bully. It's a bully! And your flesh is such a bully that he will try and have his way every day. So therefore, we need to be aware of that.

And because that is true of all of us, it's so easy to become discouraged. It's very easy to become frustrated. It's very easy to just want to throw up your hands and simply give up. Now, if any of that or all of that is true of you this morning, then Paul has incredibly good news for you. Paul says, it is possible for you to obey. Paul says it is possible for you to grow in becoming like Jesus. Paul says it is possible for you to make progress in sanctification and holiness. Say, well, why is this possible or how is this possible? Verse 13, "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Now, as I read and meditate particularly on verse 13, there were four things that came to my mind that I want us to take a look at this morning. Four key words, if you will. In verse 13, we find comfort, encouragement, challenge, and a warning. So comfort, encouragement, challenge and a warning.

Comfort

So verse 13, I find it to be a very comforting verse. In fact, if you take the time to meditate on verse 13, you can't help but be comforted by what Paul says. In our struggle to obey, in our struggle to grow spiritually many of us still have a tendency to try and take on too much. We take too much on ourselves. In other words, we adopt a motto that I said, I spoke of before, if it's got to be, it's up to me. And so what do we do, we set out with the best of intentions. We make our resolutions, we make our promises to God, we steal our resolve, we try and stiffen our backbone and we say that we are going to be a good boy or a good girl. But what happens? We fail. Despite our best intentions, we fail. Despite our promises, we fail. Despite everything that we swore that we would do we still fail. We find that we simply cannot live up to God's standard in our own power or in our own strength.

But as I properly understand verse 13, I find comfort. I'm comforted by the knowledge that I am not in this alone. Yes, there is work to be done, but is not work to be done in my own strength. It is not work to be done in my own power. See, this is where I begin to understand both intellectually and experientially what Paul meant when he said when I'm weak, then I'm strong. This is where I come to understand what the Bible means when it says that his strength is made perfect in my weakness. Listen to what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12: "But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you." All right. Now how do we know that his grace is sufficient for us? For my power is made perfect in weakness. Now, how did Paul view that? Was Paul offended by that? Was Paul upset by that? Did Paul say how dare you think that I can't do this on my own? No, Paul says, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Paul boasted in the fact that he was weak. He was not afraid to admit that he was weak.

That seems so un-American. We don't dare admit any kind of weakness. But Paul says the only way to know the power of Christ is to admit our weaknesses. Jesus has promised you that if you are in Christ, if you are truly his that his power is made perfect in your weakness. I find that to be incredibly comforting. I don't have to put on a façade. I don't have to act like I'm He-Man, I'm spiritual He-Man, I can conquer it all. I can do it all myself. I'm not Cam Newton scoring a touchdown and pulling back my shirt like I got Superman on my chest. I don't. If I got an "S" for anything it's for simpleton, simpleton. No, see, this is this is incredibly comforting knowledge for me. As I meditate on verse 13 I understand why Paul told us in Ephesians 6 to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. He understood. The success in sanctification comes from admitting our weaknesses and trusting in the power of Christ.

So when I'm strong in the Lord in the power of his might, when I understand that it is God who works in me both to will and to work for his good pleasure I can move on from both my discouragement and my depression over my failure, over my lack of progress. And I experience comfort as I realize that the motto that perhaps I've been living by-- if it's got to be, it's up to me-- is all wrong. It's a falsehood, it is not true. It's not a Christian way of thinking. So I take comfort knowing that God is at work within me, as John MacArthur says, while the believer is working out, God is working in.

Encouragement

I'm not only comforted by verse 13, I'm encouraged by verse 13. So where's the encouragement in verse 13? The encouragement is found in the knowledge that God is at work in me. The encouragement is found in the knowledge that God is actively now in this passage doing two thi
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God and You Part 2

God and You Part 2

Craig Wilson