Word of Salvation – Vol. 42 No. 17 – May 1997

 

Our Involvement In Our Renewal

 

Sermon by Rev. W. Wiersma on Lord’s Day 33

 

Dear Congregation,

Our subject for today is the link between what we are by faith in Jesus Christ and what we do in practice.

What we are by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is, of course, all important because that is what determines our relationship with God.  As the apostle Paul expresses it in Romans 5:1-2, “Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access into this grace in which we now stand.  And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God”.

Now that new relationship is, of course, to have practical consequences.  To quote the apostle Paul once again, he writes in 2Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ Jesus he is a new creature (or a new creation); the old has gone the new has come”.  So it is what we are in Christ that matters – that is central and foundational; what we are in Christ.  Because in Christ we enjoy all the benefits of his faith and obedience.  In Christ we enjoy all the benefits of his death and resurrection.  That’s why Scripture encourages us to think of ourselves in terms of what we are in Christ.  I cannot stress that enough.

I suggest that you write this text in large letters and hang or stand it in a prominent place.  I am referring to Romans 6:11, where it says: “Count yourselves (or consider yourself) dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”  Consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.  In Christ Jesus you are dead to sin and you are alive to God.

Now when you start thinking like that, there will be practical consequences.  Because when we think about this new relationship we have in Christ, when we think of ourselves dead to sin and alive to God – in Christ Jesus – and then take a good look at our actual life and behaviour, we will know that our actual behaviour does not really match what we are in Christ.  We will become aware that a change needs to take place.  It is a change that doesn’t alter our relationship with God, because that has been established in Christ.  It will rather alter our view of ourselves.  It will be an ongoing process of making our practical behaviour match our faith and grace standing with God.

That process, called repentance or conversion by the Catechism, has two sides to it.  It has our faith reaction to our sins and imperfections and it has our faith reaction to God in all his goodness, mercy and patience.  One side causes us sadness, the other lifts us up and causes us joy.

The sad side is our reaction to our own sins and failures.  Seen from the view of one who is dead to sin in Christ, our sins will cause us grief.  We will be disappointed by our sinful behaviour.  We will admit that it is bad; that it is an affront to God and a tragedy for our neighbour.  Our sins will grieve us; embarrass us; when we look at them from the faith in Christ’s point of view.  In Christ we are dead to sin we were crucified and buried with Him.  But look at us, listen to us.  What a stream of foul transgressions prevails from day to day.  What a heap of loveless words and proud deeds.

We must deal with this evil, you and I.  We must seek to rid ourselves of all this evil.  Through faith in Christ it has already been forgiven.  It is no longer counted against us.  But for God’s sake we must put off what belongs to our sinful nature.  We must break with sins and sinful habits.  We must avoid places and situations of temptation.  We must give up behaviour that seeks to please our sinful self, and that is a cause of grief to God and our new self.  Through faith in Jesus and through the working of the Holy Spirit we have come to love God and we have come to value and appreciate the wisdom and love of God’s Word.  And in this way we have come to see the evil, the corruption and destructiveness of sin.  Through faith in Christ we come to hate sin.

Without Christ we molly-coddle our sins and make excuses for them.

We treasure sin, we hang on to it.  Yes, we do.  Think of the times we hold on to anger and resentment.  Inside we are thinking up all sorts of reasons why we should continue the anger – why we should not forgive.  We tell ourselves we have a right to be resentful.

But the believer in Christ does not treasure sin.  The believer in Christ is grieved that he/she is not able to get rid of that sin.  How can you feel right about grieving the person that you love?

And speaking of love, we will realise that our love to God is so imperfect.  Through faith in Christ and under the influence of the Holy Spirit we will want to improve in that department.  We will actually want to get to know God and his grace in Christ better.  The believer will want to improve his life behaviour not only because God commands him to improve it, but because he genuinely wants to please God.  Don’t we?  Don’t we want to please God because we love Him who has first so loved us?

Let’s look quickly again at the last question of Lord’s Day 32: “Can those be saved who do not turn to God from their ungrateful and impenitent ways?  By no means.  Scripture tells us that no unchaste person, no idolater, adulterer, thief, no covetous person, no drunkard, slanderer, robber, or the like is going to inherit the kingdom of God.”  This particular teaching has often been misunderstood.  It has often been suggested that the Reformed faith is very, very hard.  This it is almost saying that you have to be perfect to get to heaven.  But that is not what this is saying at all.

What this is saying is that it is impossible for someone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore loves God, to have a totally unchanged life.  That’s what it is saying.

I mean, the whole section on ‘Deliverance’ has been saying that there is salvation for sinners through Jesus the Messiah, no matter what their sin is or has been.  But it says that a sinner who is saved will also want to change their life, because the Holy Spirit, Christ Himself, will bring that desire about in their heart.

And if there is no desire for change, for improvement, then a person does not have the Spirit of God.  (The presence of the Holy Spirit is evident from faith in Jesus Christ and a desire to live to God’s glory.)

And if we don’t have this Spirit of Christ, then we are not his.  That is what this is saying.  If you have no desire to submit your own will to the will of God, then you don’t belong to Christ.

If you are struggling with your sinfulness, O, then there is hope for you.  Because that is the normal experience of every Christian.  There is a struggle because of the two natures: the old nature and the new nature; the old sinful self and the new self which is the Spirit of Christ.  The apostle Paul writes about that struggle in Galatians 5.  And it would almost seem as if there is a stalemate.  But the Spirit does work.  And the Spirit so works in the believer that we will start to want to do what is pleasing to God.

We genuinely want to please God – simply to please Him.  Just like a young fellow wishes to please the girl he loves, simply because he loves her.  And the girl wants to please him because she loves him.  No compulsion about that.  Simply a desire to please the loved one.

And that is what the essence of Christian living is about.  That’s the real motivation for Christian behaviour.  To please God.

Now, let me say here that such a desire will not always be appreciated in the world.  It is not always appreciated even in the church community.  When someone wants to be genuinely obedient to God – when they want to please God with their whole life, or with some particular aspect of their life, there will always be people who feel threatened because they don’t share that wholehearted love for God.

It reminds me of children at school.  Someone wants to work really hard and get on very well.  But, there will always be others who will say, “Crawler; teacher’s pet!” and they will do their best to make it as hard as they can for the one who wants to do the right thing.  It happens in the church, too.  Someone wants to live wholeheartedly for the Lord.  But there is bound to be another who says, “What are you trying to prove?  Hey, don’t take it that seriously.  Don’t take it that far.”

But we should not allow ourselves to be put off by people who show that they actually have a guilty conscience and feel bad about themselves.  We should have our eyes and attention fixed on God.  We should rejoice in God, our maker, and give thanks to him, our redeemer.

For our newness has all been brought about by God himself.  God has provided the Saviour.  He has opened our ears and hearts.  God himself has given us faith and provided us with the will and power of his Spirit.

Oh, how rich God has made us in Christ.  His love is in our hearts and is working to change us – making us willing and able to do what is pleasing to him.

Now this renewal of our lives is a slow process.  It may be true that in some believers there are dramatic changes, dramatic conversions.  But you will usually find that those changes are partial.  They relate to a certain aspect, a certain part of life.  Other parts still require much attention and change.  As the Catechism points out in a later question and answer – even the holiest people have only a small beginning of the perfect obedience which God desires.

Some Christians find this view rather pessimistic.  They point out how enthusiastic many Christians are in their faith and love for the Lord.  Now, I do not wish to question such enthusiasm.  In fact I would like to see a lot more of it.  But it is my experience that many enthusiastic Christians don’t know much about humility and wisdom.  We all need a lot of changing still.  And that change will only come about through the Spirit of God working on our hearts and minds teaching us to hate sin and to love the will of God.  I say, we all have a long way to go.  But, by faith in Christ we may already think of ourselves as totally dead to sin and completely alive to God in Christ.  And what we are in Christ we will also become in practice.

For the promise which we hang on to is, that we shall be like him.  Those who trust in Christ alone for salvation shall see him as He is.  Beloved, now we are the children of God.  And it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is (1John 3).  And in Colossians 3, Paul writes, “For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

That’s the great prospect.  To be like Jesus.

NO MORE SIN.  Perfect in love.

That’ll please our heavenly Father, won’t it?!

Amen.