Episode Transcript
Jesus said in Matthew 28:19, Go, therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Welcome to Go Teach all nations, bringing you Christ's teachings through Australian and international speakers. And here is today's presenter, Cheri Peters. And here is today's presenter, Pastor Robert Stankovic.
SPEAKER B00:00:37 - 00:41:59
Let's just bow our heads in prayer. Father God, we just want to thank you that we can bring all our troubled souls to you because you care for us. As we lean on you, as we lean upon the merits of your salvation upon the cross, May we learn to grow to love you in our words and in our actions and how we treat one another. Because what we say and what we do, we will be judged. Sounds scary, but Lord, there is a positive assurance in that because of who's in our hearts. And Lord, as we open your word, may you speak to us, encourage us, Maybe there could be one or two here that are just not sure where they stand with you, with the cross, and with the judgment. Bless us now in Jesus' name. Amen. A man was pulled over for speeding, and he said to the officer, Sergeant, I believe in 'Grace.' The officer replied, 'Sir, grace may forgive you, but the law still reveals that you were speeding.' The man tried again. 'Well, I wasn't really speeding in my heart.' The officer answered, 'Well, the radar gun doesn't measure your heart. It measures your actions.' Isn't that so true? We often try and excuse some of our behaviors because maybe something isn't ticking right inside. Ah, legalism! Ah, that's obedience! That's works! I want to share some key scriptures that talk about salvation because sometimes when we face a— I mean, I've had my share of speeding fines. I mean, I reckon I have sponsored a few kilometers of a freeway just by my speeding over the last 30 years. It hurts every time, but I get over it, and then the next one comes in the mail, and then it goes up and down, you know. I reckon I would have paid off my house by now. Let's read some scripture. Saved by grace. For by grace you have been saved through faith in And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. That's very clear that the motive of why I love Jesus is not because he approves my goodness. I love Jesus. Why? Because of the grace he showed to me, undeserving. 'For everyone has sinned. We all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet God in His grace freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins.' Let me, let me just stop there. Out of— I don't know how— I'm not going to say a number because that's a man— Rob's done a few speeding fines. But out of all the speeding fines, I've only had twice grace shown to me. Twice. And, uh, and there was something to do with son and, and I don't know, a few other things. And maybe he was in a hurry and couldn't be bothered writing a ticket. I don't know. It was only twice I was shown grace. But every other time I paid the penalty for my sins. For God presented Jesus as a sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they do the right thing, when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood for you and me. That's it. There's nothing else that makes us right. But then you say, but what about repent and, you know, forgiveness? And oh, that comes. When you fall in love with Jesus, and undeserving as you are, you see the grace and the goodness of God poured into your heart, you cannot help but feel shame and guilt. Not because you are fearful of a vengeant God, but because you feel ashamed because of the sin itself, and you don't want to disrupt that connection with your loving God. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration, renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by his grace We should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Not only does He spare our lives, He gives us a greater life as the reward of our sins—repented, of course. It's just overwhelming sometimes. I ponder at it every time I'm reading Scripture in the morning.— "Lord, you sure you haven't changed the tone of your love towards me yet? Done a few dumb things." For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. There's a bit of a clue. He saved us for what reason? To live a holy life. We're going to have a look at that in a moment. He did this not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan— from the beginning of time to show us His grace through Christ Jesus. Now there's the answer. There is. Did you exist before the beginning of time? So when did grace come? Before you even existed. Grace was already extended, just waiting for us. Now let's turn the tides. We've talked about salvation by grace, something God did for us that we did not deserve or warrant to be accepted, but because he is love, he does. Now, how do we reconcile if we are saved by grace through faith, not of ourselves, not of our works, lest anyone should Boast. So there's the clue number 2: boast. All right, keep that in the back of your mind. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of who? Christ. Remember whose judgment seat it is. That each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Now, at first glance, does that make you a little bit nervous? I've got to watch my step. Do you sometimes feel you're walking on— what do you call it? Eggshells. Eggshells, that's the one. I was thinking glass. I don't know. Eggshells. I'm thinking too far ahead. Or do you feel confident when you're walking in life? Even when you slip up and trip up, not because of what you've done, but knowing where you can go— to the Lord. Yeah. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man's all. For God— doesn't say anything about grace there, does it? Isn't grace part of that all? Or maybe it's kind of interwoven in there somewhere, part of that fear God, give glory to Him. We'll see more of it as we go. I'm going to look at some excellent Bible examples. For God will bring every work into judgment. What work? Every work. Does that mean for the righteous and the unrighteous? Everybody. Everybody. It begins with us in as the living in the investigative judgment as we meet the Lord, but there will be a final conclusion. But we're gonna see that judgment is a positive thing and how we can be on the right side of the fence and why. Every secret thing, whether good or evil, Another one: A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things. An evil man out of the evil treasures brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be— what? Condemned. Who, who condemns you? Does God condemn you? You yourself, by your own words. Now, words has a deeper meaning than what you say, because out of the mouth speaks the heart. The commitment, the passion, the connection or lack of connection with God determines the outcome of our relationships and behavior. And I saw the dead, small and great— this is in the book of Revelation, I think. Oh no, Matthew. Okay, it's the next one— standing before God. And books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works. Why doesn't it say, and the books were open and they were judged according to the of Jesus on the cross. Well, we'll try and reconcile that. By the things which were written in the books, you will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them. Keep that clue number 3: fruits. Okay, and this is the message I proclaim, says Paul, that the day is coming when God, through who? Through Jesus, not the Father, through Jesus. Even though the— for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. God loves us, but it was Jesus that showed us what the Father is like for 30 years on earth. We'll judge everyone's secret life. So is it grace or works? Which way do you and I lean on? Well, there are people in Christianity that lean towards grace and say, "Man, anything I do has nothing to do with my salvation or my eternal life with Jesus in heaven." And then you've got others on this side that will say, you know what, I've got to make sure that how I live will be presentable to God, that when I'm in heaven I will be accepted. Paul says this— I think he had a similar question as we're trying to work it out ourselves— and if by grace, if salvation is by grace, then it's no longer works, otherwise grace is no longer grace. 'But if it is of works, then it's no longer grace. Otherwise, work is no longer work.' Sounds a bit confusing. We'll clear it up as we go. And then he says— oh, this is the other version, I love it— 'But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works.' It's clue number 4. Basis. Keep that in your mind. For by grace you have been saved through faith. We read that one and we stopped. Not of works, lest anyone should boast. But the second part of that verse, our next verse, verse 10— I only read 8, 9 at the beginning— for we are his workmanship. He molds us and shapes us and recreates us and changes us. We were created in Christ Jesus for what? Oh, hold on. So we're saved by grace for the purpose of being created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand. So even before I had the good intention to do the right thing, God already had a purpose. He needed to be sure that my identity with him was secure. If our identity isn't sure of who Jesus is to me and who I am to him, then our purpose for living, even obedience of faith, showing kindness and tenderness, they're all works. So whether it's the works of selfish ambition— all the works of God's kindness, selfless love. My dear children, I'm writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have— what? An advocate. What's an advocate? A defense lawyer who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself— you gotta, you gotta remember this— he himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins, and not only our sins but the sins of who? Everybody! Even Donald Trump, even Benjamin Netanyahu, and I can't remember the one that was assassinated in Iran, but anyway. And a second one was assassinated long after, his replacement. Um, all right, so is Jesus our judge or is he the Lamb? He's both. Why is he both? Why is he worthy to be honored and praised and worshiped. He died for us. Now let me read how we're going to reconcile salvation and judgment. This is what John the Baptist said about Jesus: Behold the Lamb of God who— what? Takes away the sin of the world. He's called what? The Lamb of God. And then in James we read, "Behold, the Judge is standing at the door." Who's standing at the door? He's knocking at your door's heart, if you read Revelation 3. So here we have Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and then there is Jesus as the Judge who needs to sort out our sin problem. And still win us, not condemn us, because if we are in Christ, there is therefore now no condemnation who are in Christ. All right, for the Father judges no one. He has given all judgment to who? The Son. Now the next verse says, and he has given him authority to execute judgment because he is what? The Son of God? He's the Son of Man. Because he came in the flesh, he lived our pain, he understood our struggles, he won our heart, he died on the cross, cross for you and me. He went to heaven as a high priest, as an advocate on our behalf. He's for us in every way. As a judge, he's looking to say, not guilty. And then in the final judgment, but when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, —then He will sit upon His glorious throne, and all the nations will be gathered in— what? His presence. You know, His presence either condemns us or it draws us. There's only going to be two groups when Jesus comes back. There'll be those that will say, 'This is our God whom we have waited for. He will come and save us.' And there will be another group that will hide behind the den and the caves and the mountains and say, 'Take us away from his presence.' Fearful. Same presence, same Jesus. He's not sort of putting an angry emoji face on the wicked. And then he puts a smiley emoji face on the righteous. He might have a sad heart for those that rejected his love, for sure. And he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. And I want to give you a reason why he separates the sheep from the goats, one to the right And the right is because he's at the right hand of his Father. And on the left, the wicked. Because I put dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, because we're going to finish that a bit later on. All right, let's go through some examples of how salvation and judgment go hand in hand or hand in glove. It depends on our decision and our response to God's saving grace. In fact, let me share something very interesting, and this was an encourage— this is a side thing, all right? I'm gonna take a minute. You know, when they built the ark, when Noah built the ark, I'm sure he had some questions about the design, but there was something in the design that was a wow. For me. Because when you go through some troubled times, you begin to understand who is in control. Now, this is a typical ship design. Looks very intricate with engines and rudders and motors and all kinds of things to get that thing moving and stabilizers. And all kinds of things to avoid flipping over in a mass wave and all kinds of things. But there was something different with Noah's ship that God specifically— not just, "Ah, yeah, get a bit of wood and chuck it together and hopefully it floats." He was very specific exactly how to design it so that His grace will be sufficient. All right, let me, let me just share. I don't want to miss some important points, uh, here in Genesis 6. So he gives these exact blueprints, precise measurements, specific materials— not just any wood, particular wood— detailed instructions down to the pitch used to seal it. But a few critical elements are missing in this design. There's no steering wheel, no rudder, no sail, and no engine. And guess what? It's only got one door. Is that gonna be the exit, emergency exit? Oh, and they got no lifeboats. The ark wasn't built to be steered. It was built to float. Let that sink in. I mean, not the boat, the thought that it was meant to float. That's all. All you had to do when God invited everyone from the earth, he didn't say, I want you to do some good work so that you have the right to enter the ark. He didn't say that. He says, come into the ark, walk in as you are, and be safe. Don't worry about if there's no engine or rudder or sail, or believe it's going to float. Noah constructed a massive vessel to survive the greatest storm the world had ever known. Put tsunamis into nothing. Yet the ha— yet he had zero control over its direction. Now Noah said, "Let's go that way." No, the storm took it to another way. Wherever. Sometimes it happens in life. You just don't know why. He couldn't dodge the rocks. Face the waves or aim for land. He was completely at the mercy of the waters. Noah wasn't the captain, he was a passenger. God was in control. And that may be the picture of someone's life right now in this room, trying to install a steering wheel in a season where God is asking to just trust him and float. We keep trying to steer what God already promised to carry. You know that song? There's no problem too big, God cannot solve it. No burden that he cannot carry you. Let's have a look at Mr. Noah. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, Genesis 6:8. But the ark was God's provision. Noah didn't design salvation, he rode it. He obeyed God's voice and entered the ark. God invites us to enter God's ark, the ark of his presence, the Shekinah glory. But where does judgment come in? The door eventually closed. Those outside were judged according to their response. Response. Now, love does not force, does it? Love says, 'Get in or you'll be lost.' God says lovingly, 'Come in and be safe.' There's a dual reality. Grace built the ark. Judgment revealed who entered. You see, the world may feel scary right now, but remember, God's still in control. Amen. Amen. God's still in control. What about the Passover? Let's see some lessons of grace and works here. The Lamb's blood spared Israel. Not moral superiority, but substitution. The blood was a substitute for their salvation to not receive the plague. What about judgment? Each family had to apply the blood. The destroyer passed over only marked homes. You see, God provided the lamb. Obedient faith applied the blood. Oh, you want me to apply the blood? Yes, Lord, I'll put that on the door of my heart so that you may enter. What about the bronze serpent? You see, God provided healing. There was no payment required. And the fact that it was a serpent that was put up sounds almost like idol worship at first glance when you read it, but it's about trusting God's way when it doesn't always make sense. No payment required. What about judgment? Those who refused to look, what? Died. Died of their disease or being bitten by a serpent and died of the poison. All they had to do is lift up their eyes and look to that serpent, bronze serpent, and they will live. You see, God offers healing and hope, but we gotta turn and look and live. That's the whole thing. It's not about salvation by works. It's about loving God back. And Jesus, of course, later became the fulfillment of that. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up on the cross so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. And then of course John 3:16 comes after that. What about the thief on the cross? As he hung there, there was no time for restitution. No works of reform. Simple faith just said, 'Lord, remember me when you enter into your kingdom.' 'Lord, remember me.' It's like saying, 'Lord, you know my heart. You know I'm sorry. You know I'm repentant. But I'm in a bit of a pickle right now, and I don't think I'm going to leave by the end of today.' 'Hey, but I'm giving my soul into your hands.' That's all. And if he didn't, he deserved it. He knew his bad life, but he was so hopeful for grace, so hopeful for grace. Of course, but notice this: the other thief rejected Christ. Same opportunity, different response. Judgment revealed allegiance of the heart. That's all it does. We only condemn ourselves. God doesn't condemn us in the judgment. It only reveals the heart. The sheep and the goats, we started with that and we're concluding the rest of that passage where it talks about— oh no, is that the one? Did I miss one? Ah, I must have skipped one. Oh, I did. Okay, well anyway, let me tell you about the, uh, the parable of the talents where one said, oh, you know, I'll give you 5, give you 2, give you 1. 'Go and invest, and I'll come back.' Grace was the master entrusts talents, a gift he gives to every one of his workers. None earned that gift. But judgment says, 'Servants gives an account to the master.' Faithfulness demonstrated through action. That's a relationship. The issue was not productivity alone, it was relationship and trust. The unfaithful servant revealed distrust in the master. I was afraid that he would get upset with me. That's not what God asked. He just asked him to be faithful with what you have. Oh, the sheep and the goats. This is one of the clearest dual realities in Scripture. Jesus separates based on actions. There was one group that fed the hungry, visited the sick, cared for the prisoner, not because that was the motive by which he was to enter heaven, but because of his love for God, he couldn't help but love those who are broken because they were broken themselves. But the righteous are surprised. Isn't that interesting? They're surprised that they— God said to them, thank you for feeding me, thank you for visiting me when I was sick in hospital, thank you for visiting me when I was in a prison. I said, when we do that, it's not because they got amnesia or something. It's because they're not looking for recognition. They're just acknowledging God's grace in their actions. That's all. That's all. They were not performing to be saved. Their works flowed naturally from transformed hearts. Works did not earn salvation; they revealed belonging. That's what it is. Because they belonged, they behaved. And they didn't choose to behave because they had to; because they belonged. They felt safe with God. They didn't feel judged or condemned. Love awakens love. You know that? Almost there. 10 virgins, all had lamps, all expected the bridegroom, but only 5 had oil. Grace invited all of them. Judgment revealed preparation. The closed door was not arbitrary. It revealed readiness. That's what it did. It's not like God slammed the door shut and said, "Sorry, you haven't got any oil." Because they don't have oil, they don't feel drawn. You see, the rich young ruler believed he kept the commandments. Jesus exposed the hard issue. It was his attachment to wealth, his love of wealth. The law revealed his idol, the idol that was in his heart. Grace invited surrender. Jesus said, go and sell all that you have and give to the poor. Whether that exactly what he was supposed to do, or that was a challenge to say to the rich young ruler, 'Do you love me more than you love these things?' He walked away. Salvation was offered freely. Judgment revealed refusal. There is the law of effect, unfortunately. And because, because if there wasn't a law of effect, Jesus would not have come to die for our sins. The effect The decisions in heaven brought sin into this world, and God had to deal with it with love. That's why we're here still thousands of years later. Takes time. Think about, uh, being citizens of this beautiful country where citizenship is by grace and loyalty is by conduct. The nation may grant citizenship freely, but if someone commits treason, their actions reveal allegiance. The citizenship was a gift. Behaviour reveals whether it was valued. You know, recently— not that I agree with any particular political parties, but First Nation Hansen made a comment in Parliament. I was listening on the radio and said, 'These people who went back to their country and participated in evil activities in supporting extremists shouldn't come back. They should be left there.' She was criticised. She was like hounded down as racist and and all of that. I'm thinking, that's a choice people make. They chose to be in a place where their heart was. How can that threaten the peace and safety and security of a free land? So sometimes, you know, we get a little bit carried away in understanding people's words and actions and activities. What about being adopted into a family? A child is adopted freely. They do not earn belonging, but over time their actions show. Do they trust? Do they embrace the family identity? Adoption is grace. Character reveals relationship. That's how it is with us and God. What about a scholar— scholarship student? A university grants a full scholarship. The student did not earn the money beforehand, but continued enrollment depends on participation and engagement and commitment. You know, someone gives you, you know, here's $20,000 to do your studies, and then you you know, play basketball all day and, and, and go dating with someone, and you don't turn up to class, you make no effort to have good grades, you're abusing the gift. Of course the gift's going to be taken away. Almost there. A spouse is accepted fully. But ongoing faithfulness reveals commitment. The wedding vow is grace. Faithfulness proves sincerity and commitment. Is it works? Absolutely. Works of love. Works that is motivated by love and respect. We are saved by grace, created for good works. But you see, grace— this is important. If you missed everything, this is important. Grace is the root, works are the fruit. Very poetic. Thank you. Grace is the root in what drives you to do what you do out of love and respect for an awesome, good God. Amen. Because I love Him. I love Him because He loves me. You see, at the cross, grace absorbed judgment. When Christ was hanging there, He absorbed the judgment that belonged to us He took it on himself. Christ bore our penalty. And at the final judgment, God reveals who accepted that grace and works our life of loving allegiance and obedience and trust in him demonstrates whether faith was living. Father in heaven, we don't want to turn our backs on you. We have failed you many times, but we turn to your presence, we turn to your face because of your grace. And when we turn to you, we turn away from the things that has distracted us. From allowing us to live holy lives, wholly dedicated to you. Forgive us, Father. Clean the shame, the nakedness, the brokenness, the anger, the unforgiving spirit, the bitterness, whatever may be in our hearts, Father. May we give it to you right now. May we stand in your presence, amazed at your grace. For we ask it in your worthy name, who is worthy to open the scroll, because you are the Lamb who will judge us righteously. Thank you, Father. Our confidence is in you. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.
SPEAKER A00:42:15 - 00:42:26
This message was made available by the Bunbury Seventh-day Adventist Church. For more resources like this, visit their YouTube page, Adventist Bunbury WA.
SPEAKER B00:42:39 - 00:42:46
It's been our pleasure bringing you this program today here on 3ABN Australia Radio.
SPEAKER A00:42:46 - 00:42:59
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