Pastor John’s Devotional for Frances Brown

Pastor John recently posted his devotional for pastors and missions leaders for the Frances Brown Offering for State Missions.  You can check it out over at his theology and ministry blog, the DEAD THEOLOGIANS SOCIETY.

Mission: UNSTOPPABLE – Deadly Lure of Spiritual Hypocrisy (Acts 4:32-5:11)

Sermon Notes are not exact transcripts of sermons preached at BBC. Instead, they are simply the notes the pastor took with him into the pulpit and preached from. As a result, the actual sermon that was preached may vary from what is posted. 

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The Deadly Lure of Spiritual Hypocrisy

Acts 4:32-5:11  

Introduction            

Acts 4:32-5:11 (ESV)   Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.  [33] And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.  [34] There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold  [35] and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.  [36] Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, [37] sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. [5:1] But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,  [2] and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.  [3] But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?  [4] While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”  [5] When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it.  [6] The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. [7] After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.  [8] And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.”  [9] But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”  [10] Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.  [11] And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.    

In the opening verses of our passage, Luke gives us a summary of where things stand with the church at this point in its history.  As we continue to work through Acts, we will see several of these summary statements coming up at key places in the book.  Remember last week, we saw the church facing the beginnings of resistance and persecution from the political and religious leaders of the day.  And we saw how the church responded in prayer with confidence in the sovereignty of God and a request for more boldness in sharing Christ.  In answer to their prayer, God filled them with this Spirit and empowered them for ministry. Here, Luke pauses and tells us what the Spirit-filled Church looked like.  

1. An Example to Follow (4:32-37)             

A. Loving Fellowship  

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.  [33] And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.   

Though we call many things ‘fellowship’ – usually social events that involve food – the Bible is clear that Christian fellowship is really about unity in serving Christ.   That kind of fellowship is at the heart of God’s plan for his people.  I do not mean some organizational unity that comes from the right structures and programs and personalities.  I mean a unity that is grounded in the saving work of Christ and is expressed in deep, compassion love for God and other Christians.   

You see, lost people can have organizational fellowship.  Christians can have social fellowship with anyone – non-Christians included.  But only those who have been justified by the blood of Christ, adopted as God’s children, and live empowered by the indwelling presence of God’s Spirit can have true, biblical fellowship.   

Furthermore, unity in Christ does not mean uniformity.  It doesn’t mean that we all talk the same, live the same, look the same, or think the same.  It simply and profoundly means that we are bound together at the deepest level of our souls.  Though different in gifting, life-experiences, and interests, our deepest desires and longings are the same – loving, serving, and bringing glory to Jesus Christ.  

Thus, loving fellowship involves a unity in our efforts to care for one another – no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common; And it involves unity in our efforts to share Christ – with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. 

The result of such unity is a church blessed by God – and great grace was upon them all.   

Luke also shows us that a Spirit-filled church not only displays loving unity, but they also show,  

B. Encouraging Generosity  

[34] There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold  [35] and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.  [36] Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, [37] sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Acts of generosity provide an immediate, tangible example of our love for someone.  This is why our passage links generosity with encouragement.   Barnabas commits this incredibly selfless act, selling his land and giving all the money to those who have none.  In fact, the guys name is Joseph, but the apostles begin to call him Barnabas, because it means son of encouragement.  You see, someone who is filed with God’s Spirit is able to let go of material possessions.  If it means helping someone else, or giving them encouragement, it means nothing to sell all you have to give it away.    

These verses should serve us in two ways this morning.  First, they should encourage us, as we see the possibilities of where we can be as a church.  This isn’t some fluke of church history.  This is God’s plan for his people, in every age.  It’s possible that at some point, our state paper, the Baptist Beacon, or better yet, the Bay City Times may describe our church this way.  But this is where we get the other intention of our passage this morning – how close are we to this example?  Remember, this is what the Spirit-filled church looks like.  So, can we say, everything’s alright – we’re doing fine.  Or do we need to say, we’re not there yet.   Paul commands that we be filled with God’s Spirit.  So, as we are seeking to obey that command – through hearing God’s voice in his word and obeying, spending more than a few fleeting minutes on our knees in prayer – we will know if we are being led by God’s Spirit, if as a church, our life looks like this example.   This is what we should strive for – loving fellowship and encouraging generosity.   

2. A Warning to Heed (5:1-4) 

Luke is a good historian.  Bad historians gloss the negatives and try to pick and choose the events of the past to push their agenda.   When we read his gospel and Acts, we find Luke is not one to cover anything up.  And here we see the first failing of God’s people.  

In contrast to the sacrificial generosity of church as illustrated in the example of Barnabas, we read – But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,  [2] and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.  [3] But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?  [4] While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”   

Here are these two Christians – husband and wife – Ananias and Sapphira.  They see the generosity of people like Barnabas and appear to decide to follow their example of generosity.   Thus, they sell off some piece of property and then claim that they were giving all of the proceeds to the church.   

But God supernaturally revealed to Peter that they were lying.  Now, was it inherently wrong to hold some back?  Absolutely not!  Look at what Peter says in verse 4 – Ananias and Sapphira didn’t have to sell it in the first place.  And when they did sell it, they were under no obligation to give all of the money to the church.  No, the sin was the lie – a lie to God about what they were doing.  Even in that, the sin of lying was simply the external manifestation of a much deeper sin of hypocrisy.   

Motive is everything in this sin. If Ananias and Sapphira had sold their land and had told the apostles, “We feel led to give half to the church,” it would not have been a problem.  But Ananias and Sapphira were not moved to sell their land out of godly generosity like Barnabas. Their motive was sinful – it was to make others think that they were more spiritual than they really were. They were motivated by love of self, not by love of God and others. 

Sometimes hypocrisy can come in simple forms.   Readers Digest once told the story of a 12-year-old boy who was waiting for his first orthodontist appointment and was a bit nervous. Apparently he wanted to impress the dentist. So, on the patient questionnaire, in the space marked “Hobbies,” he had written, “Swimming and flossing.” Regardless of where it’s found, hypocrisy is always motivated by self-love. We want to impress others, to make them think that we are something that we know in our hearts we are not.  

But the New Testament is about the exact opposite.  It is not a religion of works that lead us to feel secure.  Instead, Christianity – having true faith in Christ – has a radically freeing effect. “Christianity is not a matter of external conformity to religious expectations. It is a matter of internal liberty. It is not a matter of force and law. It’s a matter of freedom and love. Being a Christian means being changed from the inside out so that you fall in love with God and other people and fall out of love with things.”  

King Louis XIV of France in the 17th century was a regular attender of church.  He even had a chapel in the royal palace for services. One day, when the king and his attendants arrived at the chapel for the regular service, no one else was there but the preacher, Francois Fenelon.  King Louis demanded, “What does this mean?”  Fenelon replied, “I had published that you would not come to church today, in order that your Majesty might see who serves God in truth and who flatters the king.” 

This morning, ask yourself who you serve?  Do you serve your own interests by living up to the expectations of others?  Or do you serve God?   If you serve God, you will find your worth in God’s love for you and death of Christ for you.  You will realize that your acceptance by God is found only because of Jesus.  When he died for your sins, your punishment fell on him.  When you place your faith in him as Savior and Lord, God imparts Jesus’ righteousness to you.  So, you stand before God dressed as it were in Jesus’ righteousness, not your own.  Knowing this, believing this, then frees us to worship and serve only God.  We know we are secure in Christ and we do not need the approval of others, nor do we need to try to make ourselves look good for others.   

3. A Lord to Fear (5:5-11) 

[5] When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it.  [6] The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. [7] After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.  [8] And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.”  [9] But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”  [10] Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. [11] And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.  

This is one of those passages of the Bible that tends to unsettle conservative Christians and unhinge liberal Christians.  You get all kinds of responses –  ‘How can God do this?’  ‘Isn’t this just a bit harsh?’  ‘Surely this didn’t really happen?’  ‘This is evidence that God himself is growing and evolving and is not perfect; even he has a temper.’  

So, why did God kill Ananias and Sapphira?  Think about what is going on here.  The Church is just beginning.  Satan has tried to stop it by leading external forces against it.  That didn’t work.  So, now he is trying to bring it down from the inside by the sins of God’s people.   

And God says, ‘No.’ From the very beginning, God want to make it clear to his people that they are to be different from the world.  His people are called to be holy.  He says, ‘I have put my Holy Spirit put within you and you will not defile my presence by embracing sin.  I will not be trifled with – I am a Lord to be feared.’ And so, in perfect justice towards two saved sinners, and in an act of fatherly mercy to his church, God strikes dead Ananias and Sapphira.   

So, what about you, this morning?  Do you fear the Lord?   Does this story make you afraid?  Even a little?  Well, it should!   But you may say, ‘I’m a Christian.  My sins are forgiven.  I’m a child of the King.  Nothing can separate me from the love of God!  What do I have to be afraid of?’ 

In his book on Christian ethics, John Murray answers this question – Is it right to be afraid of God? And he says:  “It is the height of folly not to be afraid of God when there’s every reason to be afraid.”  If you have no reason to be afraid, then don’t be afraid.  But if you’re living like Ananias and Sapphira, if you’re living in defiance of God, if your view of God is such that you convince yourself ‘God doesn’t see this, God doesn’t hear this, God isn’t concerned about my sin, then you have every reason to be afraid.  

For the Christian, it may be death.  In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul says that some Christians were sick and had even died because they had not taken seriously the Lord’s Supper.  Though your sins are forgiven and you will spend eternity in the fellowship and glory of Christ, that doesn’t mean God will not allow temporal discipline or punishment to fall on you.  

For those of you who are not Christians, the death of Ananias and Sapphira was only a little glimpse, a little portent of the final fate that awaits those who defy Him.  God says that those who refuse to acknowledge his glory and rebel against him in sin will be punished.  And the punishment he promises is an eternal existence of torment in hell.  Nevertheless, that does not have to be your future.  You can repent – turn away – from your sins, and trust God to save you from your sins.   

Conclusion 

John MacArthur says, “None are so ugly in God’s sight as those who flaunt a spiritual beauty they do not possess.  Ananias and Sapphira were nothing more than sinning saints feigning spirituality.”

Mission: UNSTOPPABLE – Power of a Praying Church (Acts 4:23-31)

Sermon Notes are not exact transcripts of sermons preached at BBC. Instead, they are simply the notes the pastor took with him into the pulpit and preached from. As a result, the actual sermon that was preached may vary from what is posted.

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The Power of a Praying Church

Acts 4:23-31  

Introduction  

Review of Acts –   

Because that had been preaching about Jesus Christ, Peter and John were threatened by the religious leaders of their day.  The Jewish leaders warned them not to preach about Jesus again.   They wanted to do more to them than simply threaten them.    

But Luke tells us “And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened” (Acts 4:21).   

Then, Luke tells us, “When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.  [24] And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God.” 

After Peter and John were released from their interrogation by the religious leaders, they return to the church.  And the spontaneous response of God’s people is to pray. More than just pray, though – they prayed together.  

This idea of them praying together means at least two things.  First, and probably most obvious, it means they were in the same place when they prayed.  They didn’t say, ‘good to have you back’ to Peter and John, leave to go home, and then pray.  They heard the testimony of what happened to them and collectively lifted up their voices in prayer.  

Secondly, and in some ways, more importantly, their praying together was an expression of their unity with one another.  They were not self-centered, but kingdom centered.  They were united in their vision for their lives and what should be prayed for.     

As we look to this passage this morning, we want to see this time of praying together as a model for us today.  We should see the importance of gathering as a church to pray, and we should see the importance of being unified in offering kingdom-centered prayers.  Ultimately, we will should see this as a model for our own lives, because our passage shows us that this is the kind of praying that God delights to answer.  

Acts 4:23-31 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.  [24] And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, [25] who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?  [26] The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’— [27] for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, [28] to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.  [29] And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, [30] while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”  [31] And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.    

1. Pray Remembering the Sovereignty of God the Father (4:24b-26) 

Here, these early Christians have begun to taste the persecution that is to come.  Persecution that will soon get worse and will soon result in death for many of them.  And their first response to it – after all, this isn’t some premeditated prayer.  No, their first response is to remember the sovereignty of God.  

In fact, they quote the Bible in their prayer.  They quote part of Psalm 2 – “Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?  [26] The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed.” 

The psalm pictures sinful men of leadership and power from all over the world coming together to stand against God and his anointed.  In the Old Testament, God’s anointed would have been David, king of Israel.  Now, these Christians would have seen a greater fulfillment in Christ, bgin God’s Anointed.  And the psalm says, ‘all their resistance is in vain – it’s pointless.’   They plot and make war against the Lord; they refuse to acknowledge him as the one, true God. 

But all of that is useless.   Why?  Because God is the Sovereign Lord.   And just as in the Old Testament, the persecution they face is not beyond God’s control.  In fact, the Christians say that has happened to Christ these past months happened was according to God’s sovereign plan.  In v. 28 they say, those wicked men gathered together ‘to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.’ 

For the early Christians, the sovereignty of God was not just a point of doctrine.  It wasn’t just some point to endlessly debate.  No, it was a rock upon which to build their lives.  Were the death of Christ and the persecution they faced haphazard events?  Or was God in control?  

Derek Thomas says, “for these early Christians, the doctrine of the sovereignty of God, the doctrine of predestination brought them the assurance that everything, that all of history – every event, every detail, every circumstance, all the good things, all the bad things, all the evil things – are all part and parcel of a divine plan and purpose.” 

Many times, it seems as if God’s enemies have one.  Do you remember that in 1949 the Chinese communist government kicked out all of the foreign missionaries in the country?  It soon became a great time of persecution against the church in China.  And around the world, the Church was worried about their Christian brothers and sisters there.  I can even remember back in the 1980’s when I was very young and had not been in church for very long, people wondering, ‘what’s going on in China?’   Later, we found what was going on there. In 1949, there had been 1.8 million protestant believers. By the year 2000 there were 26 million (not including the estimated 45 million of the underground house churches).  Yes, there was terrible persecution, but there was also revival! 

God is sovereign, he is in control. Do we not sing,? 

O Father, you are sovereign

in human scheme and skill;

No powers of death or darkness

can thwart your perfect will.

All chance and change transcending,

supreme in time and space,

You hold your trusting children

secure in your embrace. 

That’s what the doctrine of sovereignty means - Nothing happens without God willing it to happen, and without God willing it to happen in the way that it happens, and without God willing it to happen before it happens.  And it was that understanding of God’s sovereignty that brought such comfort and such assurance and such boldness to these Christians.  And can bring us comfort today in the midst of difficult circumstances.   

2. Pray Exalting the Salvation of God the Son (4:27-28) 

Just as this prayer brings glory to God for his sovereignty over all of creation, it also focuses on the person and work of Jesus Christ.  In fact, God’s sovereignty is seen clearly in the death of Jesus on the cross. For it is Jesus himself that’s the focus of God’s plan for the world.  

And so as the disciples pray the language of Psalm 2, they quote the psalm, asking – ‘why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed.’  

Then they continue to pray, seeing what had happened to Jesus just a few weeks ago happening in fulfillment of this psalm – for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. Some of you may be put off by the language of sovereignty and predestination. 

But, the truth is, as we see from this passage, you cannot make sense of the cross of Christ apart from it.  And the cross of Christ is central to Christianity.  Christianity is not first and foremost a system of morality, it is not first and foremost a form of religion. It is first and foremost a message of salvation.  Salvation from the power and penalty of sin in our lives.  That’s why Jesus came.  He came, born of a virgin to a life of humility, and eventually willingly gave up his life by being killed on a cross.   By this death on the cross, God poured out his wrath against sin – your sin and mine.  So Christ takes the punishment we deserve for our sins. 

And when we place our faith in Christ as our savior, God forgives our sins, giving us eternal life and adopting us as his children.  So, when we die, we need not fear punishment for our sins in hell, but eternal fellowship and joy with God in heaven.  

And the Bible calls Jesus the lamb slain from before the salvation of the world.  That means that from the very beginning; before, anything was created, God knew that humanity would sin and rebel against him.  And he planned a way for us sinful rebels to be saved from the punishment we deserve for our sins – the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ.  

That’s really the focus of this prayer.  It’s a Christ-centered prayer.  The occasion of this prayer was persecution for speaking about Christ.  These Christian pray in light of the sovereignty of God’s plan which is centered on Christ.  They pray that they would continue to speak boldly about Christ.  And they pray that he would receive glory for what is done in the name of Christ.              

3. Pray Seeking the Empowerment of God the Spirit (4:29-31) 

In many ways, it is amazing what these Christians do not pray for.   After all, they are facing persecution.  By some of the most powerful, political and religious of their day, they have been told – ‘stop speaking about Jesus.’  

I have to think that if the same thing would happen to many Christian today, our response in prayer would be, ‘Lord protect us!  Lord, make this persecution stop; keep us safe from harm’s way.’  We pray those kinds of things all the time.  And they are not inherently wrong requests.  

But I want you to see what they Christians pray for.  Their prayer, as we have, began with praise for the sovereign reign of God, and his saving plan in Christ.  Only now do they even mention their trouble; only now do they actually ask for something.  Look at what they ask for –  [29] And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, [30] while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”   

What do they pray for?  They pray that God would empower them for ministry.  Specifically, that God would empower them to have boldness and courage in sharing Christ.  That God would bring glory to his holy servant, Jesus.  

Is it convicting to see others with that kind of kingdom priority in their prayers?  It is for me! We have to ask, is that true of us?  Are those the kinds of things we pray for?  Do we ask for God’s spirit to empower us to be bold with the gospel? 

Do not try to convince yourself that this was simply the prayer of Peter and John.  That this kind of praying is only left for the leaders of God’s people, or the super-spiritual.  No, remember what Luke has told us.  This was the prayer of all the Christians gathered together.  This was the prayerful desire of them all.   

All of the early Christians were seeking to be empowered by God to be bold with the gospel.  they all desired to be faithful in God’s calling for them to share Christ.   And, quite frankly, that’s the kind of prayer God loves to answer. When you are concerned for the glory of Christ – when you are concerned to see his name known and embraced with faith – and pray for those things to happen, God will answer your prayers.  

Look at verse 31 – And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. 

You know, in the year 400 A.D., John Chrysostom, began a series of 55 sermons on The Acts of the Apostles. Chrysostom was a great preacher in Constantinople.  In fact, he was such a powerful speaker that he earned the knick-name Chrysostom.  That’s not his last name; it means ‘golden mouth.’  Isn’t that a great knick-name for a preacher?   He certainty deserved it. You can still read his sermons today, and years later they are still powerful.   In his sermon this passage he says, “The whole place was shaken, and that left them all the more unshaken.”   

That’s what we should be praying for.  It doesn’t matter if the building shakes or not. What we want is to be filled with divine power of God’s Spirit.  And we should be praying for it, like they were, like Jesus told them to pray – to always pray and not lose heart.  To keep asking, seeking, and knocking.  We keep praying so that we will be filled with the very presence of the living God to the degree that we are bold in our witness for Christ.  

A little boy asked a sailor once, “What’s the wind?” And the sailor replied, “I really don’t understand it but I can hoist the sail.”  Most of us don’t quite understand how the Spirit fills us and empowers us.  But as Derek Thomas says, all of us can hoist a sail and say, “Lord God, I cannot do this on my own, whatever it is you’re asking me to do. I need your help.  Please strengthen me by Your Spirit.”   

Conclusion 

Several years ago, there was once a man named Rigby who near the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. At various times, we would have to go to Edinburgh on business.  And whenever he did, he would make sure that he got a hotel room on Saturday night so he could go on Sunday morning to St. George’s church and hear the great preacher Alexander White.  Rigby was a shy man, often finding it hard to share his faith. 

But as he left the hotel on Sunday morning, he would always try to find someone – someone he didn’t know – in the hotel lobby and ask them if they wanted to go to church with him.   Often people would say no, just occasionally someone would say yes and go with him. Well, one morning as Rigby went down to the hotel lobby he went up to a man and said, “Would you come to church with me today?” The man had nothing else going on and he said, “Yes, I’ll come.”  

As he listened to Alexander White explain the gospel, God moved in his heard, and he knew the gospel was true.  After the service, Rigby had the great privilege of leading that man to Christ.   Rigby was so excited he wanted to tell someone.  But remember Rigby was a shy man. And in all those visits he had never actually met anyone at the church or got to know them.  He couldn’t think of anyone to tell, so he thought he would go and tell Alexander White himself.  

So, he went up to the pastor’s house and explained his story to Rev. White.  Afterward, the pastor said, “Tell me, what is your name?”  He said, “Rigby.”  A smile drew across White’s face and as he said, “Oh, Mr. Rigby, I’ve been waiting to meet you for years, just hold on a minute, would you?”  And he went into his study and got out a file that was full of letters and cards by various people who had come to Christ through the ministry of St George’s in Edinburgh.  And every one of them told a similar story of how they were staying in a small hotel in a rundown part of Edinburgh, and a shy quiet man invited them to go to church with him.  And they went and heard the gospel and were gripped.  Sometimes that day, sometimes weeks, months, even years later, they came to put their trust in Christ.  

It doesn’t matter if you’re loud-mouthed and gregarious or soft-spoken and shy.  God can use anyone to bring people into his kingdom.  He wants to you, Christian.  So, pray like these early Christians did.   

Pray remembering God’s sovereignty.  Pray remembering, being comforted and strengthened knowing that God is in control.  That even in the midst terrible things, both globally and personally, he is working out his plan to save sinners.  

Pray in such a way that Jesus is exalted.  Pray the language of Scripture back to God.  Above all difficulty and problems, remember and give thanks for the salvation he has provided in Christ.  

And pray for God to empower you by his Holy Spirit – to give you courage and boldness – to take every opportunity you can to share Jesus. The result will be a prayer that God longs to answer and a life who loves to bless.

Cross-Centered Community: Guard (Heb 3:12-13)

Sermon Notes are not exact transcripts of sermons preached at BBC. Instead, they are simply the notes the pastor took with him into the pulpit and preached from. As a result, the actual sermon that was preached may vary from what is posted.

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Cross-Centered Community: Guard

Heb 3:12-13  

Introduction  

In his book on the doctrine of sin called, Not The Way It’s Supposed To Be, Alvin Plantinga says the following –  “In this book, I am trying to retrieve an old awareness that has slipped and changed in recent decades. The awareness of sin used to be our shadow.  Christians hated sin, feared, fled form it, grieved over.  Some of our grandparents agonized over their sins.  But the shadow has dimmed.  Nowadays the accusation, ‘you have sinned’ is said with a grin and a tone that signals an inside joke.  One time, this accusation still had the power to jolt people.  As a child growing up in the 50’s among western Michigan Calvinists, I think I heard as many sermons about sin as I did about grace. The assumption in those days seemed to be that you could not understand either, without understanding both.  Many American Christians recall sermons in which preachers got visibly angry over people’s sin.  When these preachers were in full cry they would make red-faced, finger pointing, second-person plural accusations – ‘you are sinners; filthy, guilty, miserable sinners.’  Occasionally these indictments would veered awfully close to the second-person singular.  Of course the old time preachers sometimes appeared to forget that their audience included sincere and mature believers.  And such preachers were capable of sounds self-righteous.  Still, you were never in doubt what these preachers were talking about.  They were talking about sin.  In today’s groups confessionals it is harder to tell.  The language of Zion fudges – ‘Let us confess our problems with human relational dynamics and our feebleness in networking.’  Or, ‘I’d just like to share that we need to target holiness as a growth-area.’  . . . .  Where sin is concerned, people now mumble.” 

Do you find that to be the case?  Do we as a church mumble about sin?  Do you as an individual, mumble about sin?   We shouldn’t mumble about sin, because the biblical writers do not mumble about sin.  They are clear and direct it pointing it out and warning us about its effects.   

More than that, C. J. Mahaney warns that “When you mumble about sin, you mute the cross.”  Apart from the cross we have no hope – it is God’s only answer to the problem of sin.  So, as individuals, and as a church, we must never mumble about sin.  We must never take it lightly.  We must never brush it under the rug.  

This is true not just when we’re talking to lost people about Christ.  It is true for our lives as well.  That might be confusing for some of you.  You may think, aren’t we Christians?  Hasn’t sin been dealt with?  The answer is both ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ 

For the Christian, the penalty for sin has been satisfied by the perfect life and substitutionary death of Christ on the cross.  Isaiah 5 says that God crushed his son, Jesus, for our sins.  God’s wrath toward us was poured out on him so might could be forgiven of our sins and be freed from the guilt and fear that we will suffer his wrath in the future. So, for the Christian, the penalty for sin has been dealt with.  It has been satisfied by the cross of Christ.   

Furthermore, we have been freed from the reign of sin.  Before we came to Christ, like everyone else, we are enslaved to sin.  It had dominion over us.  We lived to satisfy the sinful desires of our hearts.  But now, Christ has freed us from its power.  Now, as Christians, we can say ‘no’ to sin and act righteously.  

So, to answer our question, ‘yes’ there has been a real and dramatic change in a Christian’s relationship to sin.  However, we also say ‘no’ because though we are free from the penalty of sin, we are not free from the presence of sin.  Why are we prone to wander even after we experience true conversion?  Because sin still exists, and it sill pulls on us from outside, and call to us from within.  Though a Christian, our sinful nature has not been destroyed.  Thus, the conflict with indwelling sin continues to our dying breath.   

J. C. Ryle says, “Sanctification does not prevent a man from having a great deal of inward, spiritual conflict.  By conflict, I mean struggle within the heart between the flesh and Spirit which are to be found in every believer.  A deep sense of that struggle and a vast amount of healthy discomfort from it are no proof that a man is not sanctified.  Nay, rather, I believe they are healthy symptoms of our condition and prove we are not dead but alive.  A true Christian is one who not only has true peace of conscience, knowing that the penalty for sin has be satisfied, but war within; aware that though free from the dominion of sin, one is not free from the presence of sin or the influence of sin.  A true Christian is one who has peace of conscience but war within.  He may be known by his warfare as well as his peace.”

So, what are we to do?  How are we to pursue godliness when sin still exists to entrap us?  The Bible says we must actively guard own our hearts and help to guard the hearts of those around us. 

This morning, we want to look to God’s word and see his plan for guarding against sin.  We want to look at Hebrews 3:12-13.  But we want to begin reading at v. 7 to get the context.  The author of Hebrews begins by appealing to Psalm 95, remembering an incident in Israel’s history as a negative example for those Christians who would receive his letter.  Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’ As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’” Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.    

From this passage we see a call to guard against sin.  Specifically, to depend on, and help guard one another against sin. 

1. Guard Against Sin  

[12] Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. We are to guard against sin and we are to do so in two ways,              

A. Guard against sin’s deceitfulness  

Many times, we have sung Robert Robertson’s great hymn, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.  But have you ever stopped to consider what you are singing?   Have you ever thought about the words of that great hymn? Consider the words of the third verse in particular –  

Through God’s grace I am his debtor –

daily I this thought renew!

Let that grace, Lord, like a fetter,

bind my wandering heart to you.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

prone to leave the God I love!

Take my heart, O take and seal it,

seal it from your courts above! 

Robertson knew the human heart and he knows the truths of the Bible.  He is correct in describing the Christian experience as a heart prone to wandering.  We are prone to wander.  Just as Israel wander away from God, so the author of Hebrews says, those days are not over. 

Even today, there will be a tendency for you to wander away.  Wandering away, or falling away, as our passage says here is not just open apostasy; a denying of the faith.  It often comes in much smaller, more subtle ways.   Hebrews understands this – that’s why he says, take care against the deceitfulness of sin.  Sin is subtle, it is deceitful.  Sin has a way of working itself into our lives in such a way that we do not give it much thought.  Often a given sin gains a small foothold in our lives and slowly, gradually grows until it is a huge part of the way we live, and we don’t realize it – we become hardened to it.  So, that over time, we can become blind to the sin in our lives.  

Again, C. J. Mahaney is helpful; he says, “After time, when sin is indulged, there will be a hardening on the soul.  To varying degrees we are all affected by this.  Over time, you become less affected by the content of the worship, less affected by singing to the savior, praying to the savior.  You are still singing [and praying], but your heart is not in it.  It can be apparent in a lack of desire for holy Scripture, a conscience that is less sensitive to sin, the infrequent confession of sin, or confession that is without sorrow.”             

B. Guard against sin’s consequences  

[12] Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. Passages like this often raise the question of assurance for Christians.  Who is the author writing to?  Is he speaking to Christians?  If so, then can they fall away?   If not, then what does this mean?   The issue is a complex one.  

For now, let me simply say this. There are two kinds of passage in the Bible.  There are those that offer assurance to Christians.   Verses like John 10:27-28 – “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”   

There are also passages like this one which warn Christian about sin, and the loss of their salvation.  Verses like Hebrews 3:14 – “For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.”     Or Hebrews 10:26-27 – “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.”   

So what do we do with both kinds of passages?  I think we need to take both kinds of passages seriously.  That is, we let them both have the power and effect God wants them to have.  We agree with the apostle John who, speaking of false Christians who left the church, says, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19).   

But we do not let that truth – the reality of our security in Christ – to overshadow, or undermine God’s call to perseverance in our walk with him.   For example, when I was in college, every class began with prayer.  Someone you would hear requests for some family member who was living in rampant, open sin, having made a complete wreck of their lives.  The person would describe all of the sins the knew about – drugs, alcohol, gambling, witchcraft, adultery – and worse.  Then they would add, ‘but, they were saved when they were four years old.”  

Loved ones, that is not the right time for those promises of assurance.  That is the time for calls of perseverance!  That is the time to say, “You have been hardened by the deceitfulness of sin and unless you repent, you should not hope to escape God’s wrath on the final day.”   

God’s people will persevere to the end.  But how will they persevere?  By being warned and encouraged by God’s word.  The warning passages in the Bible come as God’s loving grace to call us back to continue in the faith and be saved.  Those passages are the means by which God strengthen us in our walk, and keeps us secure to the final day.  

And so what are we to do?  We are to guard our hearts!  We are to heed the warnings the Bible gives us and take care in our walk with God.   

2. Guard One Another  

While we surely are to be on guard ourselves – taking care after our own hearts – the Bible says, that’s not enough.   The author of Hebrews says, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”             

A. Guard in community  

In this passage, the guarding that is envisioned is “a crucial, personal, relational interaction in light of the present influence and deceitfulness of sin.”  As Christians, we must not only hear the public proclamation of God’s word.  We must also hear the personal exhortation of one another.   Why is this true?  Because sin is deceitful!  We can and should make every effort to plumb the depths of the sinfulness of our hearts, but at the end of the day, we will always have a distorted view of ourselves.   

I know a man who went to an interview for the job of regional manager of a large, national company.  He prepared as best he could for the interview.  He reviewed his performance record.  He spent some extra time in grooming and getting dressed, making sure all hairs were in place.  In his suit, he looked sharp and professional.  But when he got home, he realized that during his entire interview, his fly had been down.  Even after all the care he had taken in getting ready, he still missed something that would have been obvious to anyone else.  

Likewise, without others around us to help us see what we cannot see by ourselves, we will remain blinded to the sin in our lives.  Even to sins that should be so obvious – things certainly obvious to others.  But by ourselves, we cannot perceive our sins clearly or comprehensively. 

One pastor says, “God desires to protect you from sin through this process of guarding.  In this way, God is a loving father who both points out the problem and provides a means of protection against it.”  

Since this is God’s plan for guarding us against sin, then we must create contexts to fulfill this plan in our church community.  This is one of the central reasons why we are moving to small groups.  They provide the perfect context for personal exhortation and application of God’s word to our lives.  So that together, in community, we can guard against sin.              

B. Guard continually  

Hebrews says, “exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” 

The great pastor and theologian, John Owen says that ‘we never grow sufficient to not need the help of others in our fight against sin.’  The task of guarding is a continual process because sin is continual.  Sin never rests.  And so we must continually be helping others be aware of the sin in their lives.  Likewise, we need to be open to receiving the warning of others.  And again, this needs to be a continual activity in our lives. 

In other words, it is not driven by crisis situations, but an on-going relationship with others.  Rather than one big moment of confrontation, I think our passage (and the Bible) has in view a series of small conversations and confrontations.  

Paul Tripp says, “The purpose of human relationships is not human happiness. It is reconciling people to God and restoring them to the image of His Son.”  Thus, if we see sin in someone’s life; if we see something that is in need of correction and we do not intervene and do not become involved, then we are a moral accomplish in their sin.  

However, this does not mean that we are to think of ourselves as if we are someone else’s conscience.  We should not have a self-righteous spirit that allows rude and judgmental comments.  We are not trying to impose our personal preferences or offering harsh judgments.   Rather, out of a context of a relationship, we come lovingly with an observation – not an accusation.  We do not come to convict them – only God can do that.  We come to communicate with them.  We give them something for them to think about.  We see something they don’t. 

Thus, correction and response to correction is a process.  We do not come and immediately expect them to agree with our assessment.  Instead, we come hoping through us, God will begin and eventually complete a work in their lives.  In all of this, then, we are not simply trying to build a church where the cross is proclaimed, but where the cross is put into practice.  

We want to see ourselves become a Christian community where the gospel has a transforming effect, changes our lives.  It should be applied, not just broadly in the sermon, but in small groups, and one-on-one relationships and conversations.    

Conclusion  

One of the people that fascinate me is Harry Houdini.  He was the great escape artist.  There didn’t seem to a lock (or set of locks) in the world that could keep him.  Back in 1904, a London newspaper dared him to escape from a complex form of handcuffs which had six locks on each cuff and nine tumblers on each lock.  Thousands gathered to see the Great Houdini try to escape. 

Like many of his events, he ducked down into a large box to begin his attempts at escape.  After about 20 minutes, he popped up out of the box and crowd cheered.  But he wasn’t done.  He said needed more light and went back into the box.  15 minutes passed and Houdini popped up again.  And again, the crowd cheered enthusiastically. Houdini smiled and said he just need to flex the muscles in his legs.  After another 20 minutes he came up a third time.  And a third time, the crowd applauded.  But again, he wasn’t loose. Using his teeth, he pulled knife from his vest and proceeded to cut his jacket off. And he went down into the box again, and crowd cheered him on.  

This time, he was only down for about 10 minutes when he emerged holding the handcuffs high in the air for all to see that he was free – the crowd went nuts with applause and screams of praise, remaining on their feet for several minutes.  Later, a reporter for the paper asked him why he kept popping up out of the box before he was free from restraints.  Houdini said he needed to hear the encouragement of the crowd.  

In a very real way, we need to hear the encouragement of one another as we live the Christian life.  As we seek to guard our lives against sin, we need the help of one another.

Resource for Sunday’s Sermon (8-5-07)

This week’s sermon is the last in the series call A Cross-Centered Community.  It is called Guard and deals with the biblical for us to help guard each other’s lives from the devastating effects of sin.  It also deals with a somewhat complex issue of Bible’s teaching on assurance of salvation and its warnings to persevere in the faith.   

One of my  seminary professors, Thomas Schreiner, has written many books, and about this issue in particular (called, The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance and Assurance).  He also written a shorter article that is excellent.  If you have questions about these issues after the sermon, I suggest checking it out.  You can find it by clicking here.