Justified, Sanctified, Transformed – Sermon Audio 2608

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 Today's presenter, Pastor Geoff Youlden. SPEAKER B Let's say that you want to buy a house. So you go along to the real estate agent and you say that I've got a house but I've got a problem. And the real estate agent says to you, what's the problem? Well, I haven't got any money for a deposit. Well, the real estate agent says, normally that would be a major, major problem, but you'll be interested to know that 2 weeks ago I had a developer come into this office and he wants to get a new development going, and for the first 12 houses he's willing to pay the deposit and the stamp duty. Well, you are just so excited because It looks now very possible that you can get into a house without a deposit. And so you're excited and you're very happy with the real estate agent and the real estate agent says to you, but wait a moment, aren't you going to ask me how much a month you have to pay? Oh yes, you say, how much is it? And the real estate agent says $10,000 a month. Now suddenly the free gift of getting into the house loses its appeal because it's one thing to have a free gift, but if the amounts that you have to pay on a monthly basis are going to knock you out, then what's the use of the free gift? Now, when it comes to salvation, we all understand that God has given to us the free gift of salvation. But if the nitty-gritty of living as God wants us to live is going to knock us out and it becomes impossible to do what God wants us to do, what's the use of the free gift? In other words, if we can't live day by day as God wants us to live, what is the purpose? If the free gift comes but the payments are going to bankrupt us, what is the purpose and what is the use? And this morning I want to talk to you about the true gospel. I want to talk to you about the, the wonderful opportunities that there are for us. In fact, I'm going to put on the screen now diagram that is going to help us to understand what we're talking about this morning. You'll notice that on the bottom of the pyramid we have the gospel of justification by faith. Now I'm going to use 3 words this morning that are big words, and for those of us who are new and finding our way into the Bible, they will be big words, but I'll explain exactly what they mean. It's not, not It's not hard once you understand. But the gospel of justification by faith is the foundation. The word justification simply means just as if I'd never sinned. In other words, God regards us when we come to God and we confess our sins, God regards us as though we have never sinned. Isn't that wonderful? In other words, it doesn't depend upon what you do and what I do for salvation. The Bible says that God gives us a free gift called justification, or we're just as if I'd never sinned. That's a wonderful thing. You think about that. When God looks upon us this morning, He doesn't see our sinful lives. He sees us as though we had never sinned. That's amazing. But the news even gets better because God not only says there's the gospel of justification by faith, but there's a second part of the story of salvation, and that is the gospel of sanctification. Now, the gospel of sanctification means that God not only forgives my sins, but He offers me power to be able to live as God wants me to live. Because sanctification simply means that we— God wants us to live a holy life. To be sanctified means to be made holy. So God— the gospel is the justification by faith, but then it includes also sanctification by faith. But the news even gets better because the Bible says that Jesus is going to come back to this earth. And this is the story of the gospel of, of glorification by faith. When Jesus is going to come back to this earth and he's going to take us to a place where there's no more tears, no more heartache, no more death. That seems to me pretty good news. And my suggestion this morning as we study this together is that we need those three components to understand the gospel. Any one of those components on its own is not the entire gospel, and we're going to see that as we go along. And this message goes beyond what Martin Luther taught. You know, Martin Luther and the Reformation did a wonderful work, and they emphasized the gospel of justification by faith. But the message that God has in these last days is a message that goes further than what Martin Luther taught. Wonderful as, as the message that he did teach, and it continues to be true, but there's more to it. Than merely having our sins forgiven, because this message includes more than forgiveness of our past sins, because God wants to deal with our present sins. And God wants to give us power and strength to be able to live as He wants us to live. Would you take your Bibles and let's open them to 1 John 1:9. Now, 1 John is at the back of the Bible near the book of Revelation. 1 John chapter 1 and verse 9. And John says this, and I think this verse will be familiar to most of us. We could repeat it by heart. 1 John chapter 1 and verse 9. I would like you to turn the Bible up rather than just read it on the screen. I'll tell you why. Because as you read the Bible, It helps to put it into your mind more than just reading the screen. All right, let's repeat this verse together. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to what? Cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now there are two components of this verse that are equally important. One is God says He'll forgive us for our sins, which is justification by faith. But then the little word "and" connects what's being said with what is going to be said, and to cleanse us from from all unrighteousness. And you'll notice also in that verse, it doesn't say cleanse us from most unrighteousness, but all of it. So this is why this verse is such a wonderful verse, a verse that says that God will forgive us but also cleanse us. That's sanctification by faith. And this verse really goes beyond the teaching of just purifying our records into purifying our lives. And God wants to do both. And it's this aspect of the gospel which is particularly relevant to us today, living in the time of the book of Revelation. There are two words that you will find in the book of Revelation that occur many times. The first word is the word overcoming. In fact, 8 times in the first few verses of Revelation you find overcoming. And then second word is the word victory. Those two words appear over and over again through the Book of Revelation. Overcoming and victory. And I want to look at this because it is this aspect of salvation which is neglected both in the Christian church and, might I say, even among some Seventh-day Adventists. And that's why I want to talk to you about this subject this morning. You know, Jesus spoke a lot about justification by faith. His death on the cross, He referred to over and over again. But I want you to listen carefully to what I'm going to say next, because this is important. But Jesus also spoke about sanctification by faith. Do you know how much more times He spoke about sanctification by faith than He did justification by faith? Twice as much. Twice as much. Because the issue of sanctification by faith is where the rub comes. I have conducted many evangelistic programs, and I have called for folk to make a decision, come down the front and give their lives to Jesus and accept justification by faith, forgiveness for their sins. But then, as we have journeyed through the program and spoken more about what God wants us to do, we have encouraged the folk to become sanctified. And when we uphold obedience and we uphold the things that God wants us to do as a Christian, then sometimes many of those people fall away. From the truth. A bit like the days of Jesus, because He said to the disciples— so many people were leaving when He talked about taking up the cross and following Him— He said to the disciples, are you going to leave Me too? Because accepting justification by faith is something that we can do in our minds. Sanctification by faith is something which has to be demonstrated in our lives, and that's where the difficulty comes. Many folk will accept Jesus as death on the cross, and they say, the cross, the cross, the cross, and who would want to downgrade that at all? But that's not where the rub is. The rub is in actually living the life that God wants us to live, on a day-by-day basis. Let me read you another verse. Come back to 1 Peter chapter 2, if you wouldn't mind, just a few pages back. 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 21 says here, for to this you were called because Christ has left us an example that you should follow His steps. So the Bible says that Jesus is our example. Now let me ask you this question: was Jesus our example in accepting justification by faith? Was Jesus justified by faith? You are very silent. Not a trick question, very, very basic question actually. Did Jesus need justification by faith? Why do you say no? He never sinned. That's correct, and you are right. So Jesus is not our example in justification by faith. He is our example in sanctification by faith. Because Jesus came to this earth to live as an example for you and for me. Because if Jesus only came to die for us, He could have come down on Thursday afternoon, died on Friday, and then went back to heaven on Sunday. If that's all that Jesus came to do. But Jesus came to do more than that. He came to actually show us how to live. That's why He was born as a babe. He grew up as a child. He took a job because He was living His life as you and I have to live our lives, and He's our example in all of those aspects. But He is not our example in justification by faith. In fact, let me read you one of those verses. Come over to Revelation chapter 3 and verse 21. Revelation, the third chapter and verse 21. Revelation 3 and verse 21 says, to him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with me on my throne 'As I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.' So tell me, is overcoming important then as far as the Bible is concerned? Is it? When it says here, 'To him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with me on my throne,' is overcoming important then? Absolutely. And any person who minimizes the idea that we can live with sin is teaching a false gospel. Now we get this far and the devil is right alongside us because he's got two traps for us. Like any good subject, there are always traps. The first trap is that many folk just completely ignore the subject altogether. That's the first trap. The second trap is, is aimed at good Seventh-day Adventists, good Christians who are in earnest and who want to do that which is right. And what he does is he gets them to study and to study and to study, and that's good. But the danger is that they will study one-third of the story of salvation and the gospel gospel and ignore the other two, or study two and ignore the third, because we've got to have the three in order to make up the gospel. The gospel is not just justification by faith. It's not just forgiveness of sins. The gospel is more than that. It is sanctification by faith. That is, God wants to give us power so that we can live in accordance with what He wants us to do. And sometimes when people study these sections, what they say when they take one section and they blow this section up, and that is the gospel to them— that's particularly true of the subject of justification by faith. We've had it in the church for the last 30 years. And what can happen is that what they say about justification is not so wrong. It's what they don't say that's the problem. You understand what I'm saying? It's, it's not just a matter of what they say that's wrong, it's what they ignore that's wrong. So they have a distorted view of of the gospel. Because the gospel is not just justification by faith. That's an important part of it, but it's not the only part of it. And we must keep those in balance together. Now, we've talked a little bit about the theory this morning of where these three aspects of the gospel fit in. I want to talk to you about how it's done because I have lots of young people say to me, we have heard a barrowload of theory on this subject over the years, but tell me, how do we live it? That's the question, isn't it? It's not just a theory. The theory is not going to save me because I can have a great head knowledge of all of these things, and still not have a relationship with God at all. So explain to me the theory. How does it actually work? Well, that's what I want to do now. Come over or back to John chapter 3, the story of Nicodemus. John chapter 3, the Gospel of John chapter 3 and verse 3. John 3:3. And Jesus here is talking to Nicodemus, and he says, Jesus answered and said to him, most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Now, what does that imply about our first birth? If I've got to be born again and you have to be born again, before we can see the glory land, what does that imply about my first birth and your first birth? What does it imply? Hmm? Yes, but what, what's it saying if I've got to be born again? I've already been born. That's why we're here. But the Bible is saying there's something wrong with that birth because I've got to be born again. What is it saying is wrong? It simply means that my first birth does not equip me to go to heaven because there's something very wrong with it, because by nature we have a very evil nature. For example, all of us know about children. Most of us have had children, or we have grandchildren. Do you ever have to teach your children to be naughty? Any parent ever have to? Tina, has your mother and father taught you to be naughty? No. No parent ever teaches their child to be naughty. Why? Because by nature we are naughty. By nature we gravitate to the evil side. That's why there's something wrong with our first birth. The Bible says that our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Now, when it says our righteousnesses, That simply means even the very best things that you do, the kindest things, the sweetest things that you and I do are filthy rags because we have no hope. Because mostly it's true that even the kind things that we do, often we do with an ulterior motive in mind. For example, we may help the old lady across the road hoping that she will remember us when it comes to her will. That can be— that can be a good— a good thing that we do, but from a bad motive. Isn't that right? And human beings, we're full of bad motives like that. And that's why the Bible says that our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. And you can imagine that if we're not born again, what are people going to do when they go to heaven and they see the golden streets? He sang about it today. What's a person going to do in their natural environment if they're not born again What's the first thing they're going to do when they see those golden streets? Hmm? Yeah, they'll want to dig them up. Isn't that true? Because that's what we would do down here. So you see, God could not take into heaven anybody who's not born again because you wouldn't be safe there. Because you would want to do all the things that you do wrong down here, and God is not going to have that in heaven's environment. That's why it is absolutely vital that we're born again so that we are ready for heaven's environment. And my attitude needs to change. You know, if you told people that you came along to church on Saturday morning to study the Bible, many of your friends would say you're mad. I can't understand how anyone would enjoy the study of the Bible because their nature is such that it's not born again. It's only the person who's born again that wants to study God's Word. That wants to get to know God. That's why it's absolutely vital. And that change that has to take place in a person's heart is not something that takes place instantly. Let me read you as the Bible describes it. Come back to Mark chapter 4 and verse 28. Mark chapter 4. Matthew, Mark, the 4th chapter and verse 28, and we all understand what the illustration that Jesus is using here. Mark 4:28, where He says, for the earth yields crops by itself, first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. Now we've all watched seeds grow. Little thing sticks up for a start. Then as time goes on, it matures and matures and matures. That's why in the church that we must always remember, when we first come into the church, there are many things that we're probably doing that we won't be doing in 12 months' time, because as God teaches us and we've got a heart that wants to do the right thing, gradually our life will change. That's why we need to be very tolerant of folk when they first find their way into the church, because it's a growth process. It's not something that's instantaneous. The new birth can be instantaneous, but the growing process can sometimes take a long, long time. In fact, we're told it's a lifetime's experience. You take the prodigal son, the story of the prodigal son. He was converted in the pigpen, wasn't he? And there his attitude changed toward his father. Is that correct? That's when he got a new attitude. Toward his father. He'd run away from his parents, finished up in the pigpen. But immediately after he was converted, where was he? Immediately after his conversion, where was he? He was still in the pigpen, and he had a long journey back to his father's house. Isn't that true? So conversion doesn't change everything at all. It changes, first of all, our attitude, and then there's a process that needs to be entered into. And the question is, how do I live the Christian life? That's the big question. How do I live the life that God wants me to live? Because we've all admitted by nature that's not what we want to do. But God's ideal for me is very different to what my nature wants to do. All right, we'll come over to John 15. This is the best description I know anywhere in the Bible to help us to understand what we're talking about. John chapter 15. And we're going to notice that John 15 actually tells us that the growth in the Christian life is natural and spontaneous. What does the word natural mean? Because I'm aware that some of us don't have English as our number one language. What do we talk— when we say natural, what do we mean by that? Yes. Well, how then, in applying that to our lives, is that the natural thing is what we just do automatically? Mm-hmm. Yes. Yes, a natural tendency, spontaneously. What does the word spontaneous mean? We just do it naturally. Yeah, it's— and, and John 15 is going to tell us that it is— the Christian life is both natural and spontaneous. Let's have a look at that. This is chapter 15, and we'll pick up verse 4 where Jesus says, abide in me and I in you. 'As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.' Now there are two things that I get from this story here, this illustration that Jesus is using, that are absolutely essential. One is, first, I've got to come to Jesus. The prodigal son had to come to the realisation that he was on the wrong path. And the first thing that we've got to do in our experience is come to Jesus. The second thing that we need to do in order to be a Christian is to remain with Jesus. Now, that might seem very, very basic and fundamental, but The vast majority of Christians believe that once I've come to Jesus, that is all I need to do. But that's not what the Bible says. I've got to stay with Jesus. In fact, let me read you— just keep back in John 15, keep your finger there. Just come over to Colossians. I want to read you another verse. This verse I hope you'll underline. In your thinking and certainly in your Bible. Colossians chapter 2 and verse 6. We're going back to John 15 in a moment. Colossians 2 and verse 6, it says, as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so what? Walk in Him. Now, how did we receive Jesus? We received Jesus by justification by faith. Is that right? I accept His forgiveness. I accept the fact that He has accepted me. That's how I receive the Lord Jesus Christ. And then the Bible says We are to walk exactly the same way. In other words, my Christian life experience is going to be the same as it was when I came to Jesus. So obedience is by faith alone, the same as forgiveness is by faith alone. That's very important that we understand this, because many folk have the idea that I come to Jesus and I receive salvation as a gift, and then I've got to grit my teeth and work hard to maintain my experience with Jesus. That is not what the Bible teaches, and that's why we fail, because you and I can contribute nothing, not an iota, toward our salvation in any shape or form. I meet some Christians who think that living the Christian life is, I'll do my best and Jesus will make up the difference. That is terrible theology. I don't know where that comes from, but I've even heard it in the Adventist Church, that I do my best. So I go along, I grit my teeth, and I do my best, and then God makes up the difference. That's very, very wrong, and it's not what the Bible teaches. All right, let's go back to, to John 15. And verse 4 again, where it says here, abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. Let me ask another question. The fruit, is it of the vine or the branch? According to what we have just read, the fruit that Jesus is speaking about, is it of the vine or is it of the branch? Which one? All right, let's, let's go back one step further. Who is the vine? Jesus, correct. Who are the branches? We are the branches. So let's ask the question again. The fruit, is it of the vine or of the branch? It's the fruit of the vine because you and I are incapable of producing fruit. The only person that can produce fruit is Jesus. And if I try to add my little part in this whole story, I'll fail every time because my righteousness is filthy rags. So I can't contribute an iota, a minuscule amount. I can't contribute anything. Now, I want to emphasize that because this is so, so important, and this is where we fail up and why we have failure in our lives, because we don't understand this. We think that the fruit is part of what we do and part of what Christ does. That is not true. All right, let's read on and we'll establish this from the Bible. Verse 5 of John 15. Jesus says, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. Now what does that mean, without me you can do nothing? Does that mean that we can't be a good builder? Dudley? Doesn't mean that, does it? Dudley's an excellent builder. Does it mean that we can't have a good career? No. People outside of Christ have good careers too. That's not what this verse is talking about. What this verse is talking about is that we can do nothing as far as contributing to the fruit. Of our life. And the fruitage of the life is the, is the work of sanctification, it's the work of justification, it's the work by which we share the wonderful gospel of Jesus. That's the fruitage of the life. And the Bible is saying that Jesus is that fruit. It comes totally from Him. In fact, there are two texts if you want to understand righteousness by faith. And that's what we are talking about this morning. If we want to understand righteousness by faith, there are two verses that you must always remember, and they're verses that you know. First of all, it says, without me you can do nothing, right? That's the first verse. The second verse is found in Philippians, which says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. So if I can do nothing myself but I can do everything with Christ, what is the most important thing for me to do? Get with Jesus and abide with Him because He will enable me to have the fruitage in my life. I can't do it myself. The Bible is very clear on that. But the Bible is saying that if you keep with Jesus and get with Jesus— we'll talk about that in just a moment, what that means— if we will do that, then we will have spontaneous, natural fruitage in our life. And our best efforts are of no avail as far as contributing to our salvation. No matter how good a life we live, and I'm sure most of us here, if not all of us, are living a good life, but that doesn't contribute one minuscule amount to the fruitage in your life. The only person that can contribute to that is Jesus, and we need to be abiding with Him, and then that fruitage will be natural and spontaneous. Let me read you Jeremiah. Let's come back into the Old Testament. Jeremiah, and it's chapter 23 and verse 6. And some people think that the Old Testament is not full of grace. Well, just look at this. Jeremiah 23, verse 6. It says, in his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely. Now this is his name by which he will be called, and it's in capital letters. What is it? Is— what is it? The Lord our righteousness. I noticed we haven't included the most important part of that verse. The Lord is our righteousness. We don't have any righteousness ourselves. Now I want to read the, perhaps the greatest verse in the Bible on this subject. Galatians chapter 2. Galatians, the second chapter and verse 20. Just look at this. Galatians 2 and verse 20. I have been crucified with Christ. This is Paul talking. I've been crucified with Christ It is no longer I who live, but what? Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh— that's the life we're all living here— I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Now this leads me to ask, a very important question, a question that has been debated for the last 30 years. This is the question: if Christ dwells in my life and your life, will I live an imperfect life? Now, wait a moment. Well, let's think about this clearly. If Christ lives in my life, will I live a life of failure or overcoming? All right, let me reread the verse together. Let's now, with that thought in mind, what I've just asked the question, let's reread the verse. Again, Galatians 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me. All right, if Christ lives in your life and my life, will that life be perfect? Or imperfect? This is an important question. If Christ lives in my life, it's not me that's living, but Christ living in my life. Will that mean that I have a life of perfection or imperfection? If the Holy Spirit dwells in my life, will that mean that I have victory over sin? Well, let's read the verse again because we need to— this verse makes it so simple and clear. Look, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live. In other words, My actions are not now going to come into consideration because I'm not living. Who's living? Christ. And if Christ lives in my life, He couldn't live a life of imperfection. Is that right? That would be impossible. But Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in in the Son of God. This verse ought to be written in letters of gold in our minds. It's not me that's living, it's actually Christ living in my life. And Christ only knows one thing, and that is to live a life of perfection. And overcoming. Well, so the question I want to ask again: does that mean that we can live a life of obedience? To be continued. SPEAKER A This message was made available by the Stanmore Seventh-day Adventist Church. For more resources like this, visit stanmoresdachurch.net.