Participants: Shelley Quinn
Series Code: GPL
Program Code: GPL000011S
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00:01 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn.
00:03 If righteousness is by faith 00:04 and I believe with all of my heart 00:07 that righteousness by faith 00:08 is the only true righteousness there is. 00:11 Then, why did the Apostle Paul 00:14 write that "obedience leads to righteousness?" 00:17 Join us now on "The Grace Pipeline." 00:19 As we uncover the answer to this question and more. 00:44 Welcome to "The Grace Pipeline." 00:46 In this series, we are learning that salvation belongs to God. 00:49 And there is nothing that we can do, to save ourselves. 00:54 We have spent four episodes talking about the grace of God, 00:59 who provides our justification by faith. 01:02 In our last program, we began to examine, 01:05 how grace plays a key role in sanctification. 01:09 Today, we will continue with the topic of sanctification 01:13 which means simply to be set apart for God and made holy. 01:18 And we will begin to see, 01:20 how we can live a life of victorious obedience to God. 01:25 If you're following along in the series companion book, 01:28 "The Grace Pipeline" our study today begins on page 95. 01:35 The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit 01:37 are actively involved in the grace of sanctification, 01:41 performing an inward spiritual work. 01:44 Primarily, through Christ imparted righteousness, 01:48 the renewal of the Holy Spirit, and the word of God. 01:52 Sanctification is the means by which 01:55 we become one with Him. 01:58 As Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 16:17, 02:02 "He who is joined the Lord is one spirit with Him." 02:07 As we are joined to the Lord, we partake of His divine nature. 02:11 He imparts His righteousness to us 02:14 through the Holy Spirit, through His word. 02:17 And this righteousness by faith 02:20 produces a mysterious transformation in our purpose, 02:24 our thoughts, and actions. 02:26 We know from Paul's letter to the Galatians 02:29 that they were misguided by Judaizers, 02:31 who placed their emphasis on the works of the law. 02:34 And the Galatians fell off into the ditch of salvation by works. 02:38 Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, 02:42 "Wide is the gate and broad is the way 02:44 that leads to destruction, 02:46 but the way that leads to eternal life is a narrow gate 02:51 and there are few who find it." 02:53 The devil doesn't care if he can get you off the narrow way 02:57 by making you fall to the right by becoming too legalistic, 03:02 or making you fall to the left 03:04 by enticing you to be too liberal. 03:07 When Paul learned, how the Galatians 03:09 had abandoned righteousness by faith. 03:12 He wrote to them with tender affection, 03:14 addressing them as his little children, 03:17 and in an expression of emotional agony 03:21 found in Galatians 4:19. 03:23 He compared it to trying to rebirth them in the truth, 03:28 until he writes quote, "Christ is formed in you." 03:34 More than any other gospel writer Paul, 03:37 God's ambassador of grace, thought that if Christ dwells 03:42 within our hearts through faith. 03:44 We develop the same love and mind of Christ. 03:49 And Jesus lives out 03:50 His own perfect life through our lives until, 03:54 we eventually reach the full stature of Christ. 03:58 Paul was constantly guarding grace, 04:00 teaching that receiving righteousness by faith 04:03 meant it wouldn't- 04:05 we would not try to save ourselves through works. 04:08 But that we would walk with Christ 04:10 in His path practicing righteousness. 04:13 He wrote in Colossians 2:6-10, "As you have therefore received 04:19 Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 04:22 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, 04:25 as you have been taught, 04:27 abounding in it with thanksgiving. 04:29 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy 04:33 and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, 04:36 according to the basic principles of the world, 04:39 and not according to Christ. 04:41 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, 04:46 and you are complete in Him, 04:48 who is the head of all principality and power." 04:54 Hallelujah! In Christ we are made complete. 04:57 1 Peter 2:24 says, "By His righteousness 05:01 we obtain a precious faith 05:03 that acknowledges we have died to sin 05:05 that we might live for righteousness." 05:08 If we accept the yoke of Christ and are united with Him, 05:12 our conduct cannot help, but to conform 05:15 to God's right way of being and doing. 05:18 We are made righteous by faith, 05:21 in order to practice righteousness by faith. 05:25 All of the Bible authors agree. 05:27 Let's consider the words of the Apostle John 05:30 who wrote in 1 John 2:29 and 3:7, 05:37 let's look at it. 05:39 In 1 John 2:29 he says, 05:41 "If you know that He is righteous, 05:44 you know that everyone who practices righteousness 05:47 is born of Him." 05:49 And then in Chapter 3 verse 7 he says, 05:52 "Little children, let no one deceive you. 05:56 He who practices righteousness is righteous, 06:00 just as He is righteous." 06:03 It is the practice of righteousness 06:06 that leads to sanctification, according to Romans 6:19, 06:11 where we are commanded, 06:12 "So now yield your bodily members and faculties 06:16 once for all to be servants of righteousness." 06:19 That's the right way of being and doing. 06:22 God's way which leads 06:24 to sanctification, the scripture says. 06:27 Sanctification is not an instantaneous act. 06:31 It is lived out by faith, day by day, moment by moment. 06:35 As we grow in grace, maturing in purity and holiness. 06:40 In 1 Peter 1:13-19, here's what Peter counsel's us, 06:47 "Therefore, rest your hope fully 06:50 upon the grace that is to be brought to you 06:52 at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 06:55 as obedient children as He who called you is holy, 07:00 you also be holy in all your conduct, 07:03 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." 07:07 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality 07:11 judges according to each one's work, 07:14 conduct yourselves throughout the time 07:16 of your stay here in fear, 07:18 knowing that you were redeemed 07:21 with the precious blood of Jesus. 07:26 "Be holy, for I am holy." 07:29 God's command is imperative. 07:31 He is holy, completely separated from sin. 07:35 Can it be true that these poor earthen vessels of ours 07:39 can be holy as our heavenly Father is holy? 07:42 Absolutely, through the saving gift of sanctification 07:48 and the enabling power of God's grace. 07:51 God will work out this same separation from sin, 07:55 in His dedicated and obedient children, 07:58 creating in them a personal dimension of His holiness. 08:03 God does not command us to be anything 08:06 that He will not cause us to be. 08:09 Paul, shares the key to unlocking this 08:11 mysterious process in Colossians 1:27, 08:16 where he says, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." 08:21 What is the glory for which we hope? 08:23 In Exodus 33 and 34, the Bible gives an account 08:28 of Moses going back up to Mount Sinai after he'd broken 08:31 the first two tablets of the Ten Commandments. 08:34 And when Moses asked to see God's glory, 08:37 the Lord hid him in the cleft of a rock 08:40 and He passed before Moses 08:42 proclaiming His character traits. 08:45 Moses asked to see God's glory, 08:47 God proclaimed His own character traits. 08:51 Then God recorded again with His own finger, 08:54 the Ten Commandments reflecting His character 08:58 on the second set of stone tablets. 09:02 God's character is His glory. 09:05 And the Ten Commandments are a reflection of His character. 09:09 With Christ abiding in our hearts through faith, 09:13 we have the hope of attaining alike character. 09:18 The Sermon on the Mount was Christ's inaugural address 09:22 as King of the kingdom of divine grace. 09:25 And in this sermon that served as the platform 09:28 to launch His ministry, 09:30 He proclaims His main objective is to restore 09:34 the lost happiness of Eden, to the hearts of men. 09:39 Let's consider a couple of the beatitudes, 09:42 the first one being found in Matthew 5:6, 09:47 He said, "Blessed are those 09:50 who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 09:53 for they shall be filled." 09:56 Hunger and thirst are metaphors 10:00 for a disciple's fervent desire for righteousness. 10:04 Jesus speaks of the hunger and thirst of the soul, 10:07 which was like David's experience, 10:10 recorded in Psalm 42, where he describes 10:14 his thirsty soul panting for God like a deer. 10:17 A thirsty deer pants for water. 10:20 No earthly source can satisfy 10:23 the hunger and thirst of the soul. 10:26 King Solomon tried to fill his emptiness 10:28 with material riches, profound philosophies, 10:32 satisfying his physical appetites, 10:35 and with honor and power. 10:37 And you know what he concluded, that all is vanity. 10:41 None of these things bring the satisfaction 10:43 and happiness that we long for. 10:46 Solomon finally realized. 10:48 It was recognition of our Creator 10:51 and cooperation with Him 10:53 that provided enduring satisfaction. 10:56 We are made righteous with God, through faith in Christ Jesus. 11:01 His imputed righteousness brings justification. 11:05 His imparted righteousness brings sanctification. 11:08 As we grow in grace, walking not according to the flesh, 11:12 but according to the Spirit. 11:14 Only those who long for righteousness 11:17 with the same eagerness, a starving man 11:21 without food or water has- only those will find it. 11:25 The longing of our hearts for righteousness 11:28 is evidence that Christ has already begun His work there. 11:34 This beatitude said, "Blessed are those 11:37 who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 11:39 for they shall be filled." 11:42 The words "shall be filled" are in the passive voice. 11:46 That indicates that righteousness is not 11:49 something that disciples can achieve by their own efforts. 11:53 The verb here is "a divine passive." 11:56 It describes an act of God. 11:59 He alone imparts the righteousness 12:02 for which disciples hunger and thirst. 12:05 This is so crucial to understanding 12:08 the theology on the Sermon on the Mount because in this, 12:11 in Matthew 5:19, Jesus required for His disciples 12:15 to keep the least of the commandments. 12:18 And in Matthew 5:20, He called upon them to 12:21 surpass the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees. 12:25 And in Matthew 5:48 He says, 12:27 "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." 12:31 You know, such demands can be twisted into a false theology 12:37 where righteousness is achieved by works. 12:41 But the righteousness Jesus demands of us is actually, 12:46 a divine gift given to His followers. 12:49 Now, let's consider another beatitude 12:52 and this one's Matthew 5:8, He says, 12:56 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." 13:02 The words "pure in heart" refer to someone 13:06 who is authentically, righteous in their inner person. 13:11 You know, righteousness can be faked. 13:14 Just consider the Pharisees. 13:16 Jesus said, "True purity is attained 13:20 when God grants it to the person who hungers and thirsts for it." 13:26 The complete fulfillment of this divine promise 13:29 will occur at Jesus' return. 13:32 But the identification of His disciples, 13:35 as those who are pure 13:37 shows that dramatic transformation 13:40 occurs even in this lifetime. 13:43 The word translated "heart" designates the intellect, 13:47 the conscience, the inner man. 13:49 And the pure in heart 13:51 are clothed with the robe of Christ's righteousness. 13:55 Pure hearts have forsaken sin, 13:58 as the ruling principles of their lives. 14:02 Pure hearts consecrate their lives to God without reserve. 14:07 This doesn't mean that they're absolutely sinless. 14:11 It means their motives are right. 14:13 And if their motives are pure, the life will be pure. 14:17 When we are pure in heart, 14:19 we will turn our back on past mistakes, 14:22 and press forward to the mark of perfection in Christ Jesus. 14:27 For the pure in heart, divine grace 14:29 has opened their eyes to seek God 14:32 with spiritual sight through eyes of faith now. 14:35 And later, with physical sight in the glorious kingdom 14:39 when we see Him face to face just as Jesus taught, 14:44 it is essential we recognize our purity in life 14:47 is vitally important to God. 14:50 Are you disinterested in the life of purity? 14:53 I want to encourage you to pray 14:56 for an honest hunger and thirst for righteousness. 14:59 This is an appeal. God is eager to fulfill. 15:03 He can make the person 15:05 who disdains and resists righteousness. 15:08 Love and long for it. 15:10 And as He develops that divine attitude within us, 15:14 the vessel of our heart opens to receive 15:17 Christ's promise to be filled with His righteousness. 15:22 We need to remember who is working the change in us. 15:27 You know, I use this scripture quite often, 15:30 Jeremiah 13:23 says, "Can the Ethiopian 15:34 change his skin or the leopard change his spots." 15:37 And then God says, "If so, then may you also 15:41 who do good, who are accustomed to doing evil." 15:46 What does this scripture tell us? 15:48 We can not change ourselves. 15:50 But don't become discouraged, salvation belongs to our Lord. 15:55 God's part is to do the work of sanctification. 15:59 Our part is to consecrate our lives to Him 16:03 and cooperate by faith. 16:06 You know, Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10, 16:09 "For we are His workmanship." 16:13 We are created in Christ Jesus for good works, 16:17 which God prepared before hand that we should lock in them. 16:21 By His grace, God will fashion us 16:25 into His genuine work of art, recreating in us a character 16:30 that responds to His love by doing the good works, 16:35 He has planned for us. 16:37 Now let's look at another of my favorite Bible promises. 16:41 I have a lot. But this is Philippians 2:12-13. 16:45 And I'm going to read it to you from the amplified version. 16:50 Philippians 2:12-13 says, 16:53 "Work out cultivate, carry out the goal, 16:56 and fully complete your own salvation with reverence 17:00 and awe and trembling with self-distrust, 17:03 serious caution, tenderness of conscience, 17:07 watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever 17:11 might offend God and discredit the name of Christ." 17:15 Aw, but, 17:16 "Not in your own strength for it is God 17:21 Who is all the while effectually at work in you, 17:24 energizing and creating in you the power and desire, 17:29 both to will and to work for His good pleasure 17:34 and satisfaction and delight." 17:39 You know, the thought of working out my own salvation, 17:44 is what Paul instructs in verse 12. 17:47 At one time, it filled my cringing heart with fear 17:51 not understanding God's plan of sanctification. 17:54 I did not perceive the power of His promise found in verse 13. 18:00 It is God, who effectually works in us to desire His will. 18:06 Through sanctification He changes the desires 18:10 of our heart and aligns our will in perfect order with His. 18:16 Once our minds have been restored to His way of thinking, 18:21 our part is just to step out in the faith of obedience. 18:26 God will not force us to act, but as we take that first step 18:31 to put Christ's righteousness into practice. 18:35 God pours out His promised power and works in us, 18:40 to live in the ways that please Him. 18:43 Hallelujah! 18:45 Now I do need to add this cautionary note. 18:48 If you don't see, your great need for God to work in you, 18:52 both to will and to do for His good pleasure. 18:56 You are deceived and sadly blinded 18:59 to your own sinful condition. 19:01 The more sanctified we become. 19:04 The more sensitive we are to sin. 19:06 Our own moral imperfections are magnified. 19:09 And we become increasingly humbled 19:12 by our need for our Savior, causing us to cling 19:16 all the more closely to Christ for His righteousness. 19:20 Isaiah 32:17 gives us this hope, 19:26 "The work of righteousness will be peace, 19:29 and the effect of righteousness, 19:32 will be quietness and assurance forever." 19:36 A positive transformation of our character 19:39 requires our cooperative effort, 19:42 but it is a spirit empowered effort. 19:47 With personal trust in God and confident reliance on His power, 19:52 we can do a work of righteousness 19:55 that keeps us abiding in Christ. 19:57 Sanctification and assurance of salvation will be ours. 20:02 We must like the Apostle Paul, 20:04 cherish the privilege of pursuit. 20:07 I'll explain that just a moment. 20:09 But for now, we know that Christ abides in our hearts 20:13 through faith, and the Holy Spirit indwells us, 20:17 and carries on to perfection, 20:19 the renewing work of God that began at regeneration. 20:23 God takes the initial acts of granting righteousness to us. 20:29 Then it's our turn to act. 20:31 We must work out that sanctifying grace 20:35 that He puts in our heart, 20:36 not depending on our own ability, 20:40 but on His power, poured out from on high by the Holy Spirit. 20:45 Paul instructed Timothy, his young co-laborer, 20:49 in 1 Timothy 6:11-12, he says 20:53 "Pursue righteousness, godliness, 20:56 faith, love, patience, gentleness. 21:00 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, 21:04 to which you were also called." 21:07 What? Fight the good fight of faith, 21:10 grip eternal life tightly and don't let go? 21:13 Was not the evangelist Timothy saved by grace? 21:17 Is Paul saying, there is a constant 21:20 spiritual battle occurring in our earthly existence 21:24 that could cause us to release our grip on eternal life? 21:28 Yes. We must have an active faith 21:32 that works to overcome the old nature. 21:36 Paul, the great messenger of grace 21:39 says in Romans 6:4 that he calls to all who are in Christ, 21:44 "to walk in newness of life." 21:47 And he instructs us in Romans 6:16, 21:51 he says, "Do you not know 21:53 that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, 21:58 you are that one's slaves whom you obey, 22:01 whether of sin leading to death, 22:04 or of obedience leading to righteousness?" 22:10 Obedience that leads to righteousness, 22:13 does that do away with righteousness by faith 22:16 and the grace of God? Absolutely not. 22:19 For as we reviewed today 22:21 it is God, who is working in us, 22:23 to will and to do His good pleasure, 22:26 even obedience is by grace. 22:30 After counseling us to work obedience 22:33 that leads to righteousness, he says in Romans 6:18 that, 22:38 "We present ourselves as slaves of righteousness for holiness." 22:44 And finally, he concludes 22:46 with the reason for these actions in Romans 6:22 22:52 saying, that is "so we may enjoy our fruit to holiness 22:57 and the end thereof, everlasting life." 23:01 Christ called Paul to testify, to the gospel of grace. 23:07 And he gratefully fulfilled his calling. 23:10 Paul's most powerful defense of grace 23:13 is found in his letter to the church at Rome. 23:17 In chapters 3 through 5, 23:19 he presents justification by grace. 23:23 Then from Romans 6:1 through 7:6, 23:30 Paul persuasively argues 23:32 the Christian's duty to be sanctified. 23:35 And as he continues from Romans 7:7 through 8:11, 23:43 he points out it is only through the work of the Holy Spirit 23:47 that a regenerated person can be sanctified. 23:51 And from Romans 8:12-30, Paul pours out 23:55 glorious proof of this certain completion of God's 23:59 sanctifying work in all who depend on Him, 24:03 right up to the crowning moment 24:05 of the final glorification of the saints. 24:09 The Apostle Paul was God's most passionate defender of grace, 24:14 wanting the body of Christ to stand perfect 24:17 and complete in all the will of God. 24:20 Seeing it as a privilege, to pursue the God of grace, 24:25 this is what he wrote in 2 Corinthians 7:1, 24:30 "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, 24:34 let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh 24:38 and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 24:44 God's most enthusiastic evangelist for grace 24:49 would certainly be confused, by some of 24:52 todays watered down teachings on the topic. 24:55 Can you imagine what his response would be, 24:58 to those who twist his words, 25:00 misleading so many souls to shrug off the blessings, 25:05 and eternal benefits of sanctification by grace? 25:10 Paul fought the good fight 25:12 declaring in 1 Corinthians 9:26-27, 25:16 "I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, 25:19 lest when I have preached to others 25:22 I myself should become disqualified." 25:24 And by the grace of God, he steadily 25:27 progressed in the ongoing process of salvation. 25:31 He taught others to strive, to perfect holiness, 25:35 knowing absolute perfection of character will only be ours, 25:39 at the time of our glorification, 25:41 when we put on immortality and Jesus returns. 25:45 In Philippians 3:12-14, he says, 25:49 "Not that I have already attained, 25:52 or am already perfected, but I press on, 25:56 that I may lay hold of that for which 26:00 Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 26:05 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, 26:09 but one thing I do, forgetting those things 26:12 which are behind and reaching forward to those things 26:16 which are ahead, I press toward the goal 26:19 for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." 26:26 Paul was motivated by God's grace 26:29 and encouraged by his own personal faith efforts. 26:33 He ran the race with endurance, looking unto Jesus, 26:37 the author and finisher of his faith. 26:40 And with complete assurance of salvation, 26:43 Paul confidently relied on God, 26:47 to complete the good work He had begun, 26:50 in this humble preacher of grace. 26:53 I want to take just a second to explain that. 26:55 In Philippians 2:12 when he says, 26:58 "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" 27:02 and then he says, "Not in your own strength 27:04 for it's God who works in you to will and to do." 27:07 What is he saying? First, as God's Spirit is in you, 27:12 He will line your desires up with God's desires, 27:16 as you read the word. 27:17 And He changes your heart. 27:19 But He's not going to force you to act. 27:21 You have to step out in faith. 27:25 And when you do the power of the Holy Spirit shows up 27:29 and God works in you to act. 27:31 Paul grasped God's supreme purposes 27:35 and he had a true understanding of salvation by grace. 27:40 Paul understood the privilege of pursuit. 27:44 He pressed forward with persistence, 27:48 practicing righteousness 27:50 and growing in the grace of sanctification. 27:53 We hope you can join us on our next program, 27:55 where we will consider the awesome work 27:58 of the refiner's fire, bye-bye. |
Revised 2024-08-06