Heb 5:5-10
INTRO: Obedience. Its a word many do not like. We are people so enamored by freedom, so believing that absolute freedom is our God given right that the word obey just goes against the grain. In a book all about freedom and liberty the New Testament speaks often of obedience. Clearly, our freedom in Christ is not void of responsibility! Our freedom in Christ must recognize the authority of God. Our text speaks even of Jesus and obedience. Last week we began to explore what Jesus learned about obedience. We continue ... He learned:
I. THAT GODS WILL MUST BE DONE
A. We note the lesson of the model prayer
1. Mt 6:10 Thy will be done ...
2. hardly had His earthly ministry begun and He is laying this crucial foundation
3. but was it a lesson He would further learn?
B. Phil 2:8b ... obedient ... the cross
1. Gods great purpose accomplished in His obedience
2. Heb 10:7 Gods purpose must always be one of the elements of obedience (Jno 12:27)
3. whether we think of conversion, the church, the Christian walk, His will must become our will ... so, Lk 22:42b not my will, but thine ...
II. THAT OBEDIENCE CAN BRING JOY
A. Heb 12:2 Here is the explanation
1. an objective is to be gained
2. but the way to the objective may be strait and difficult ... even unpleasant
3. yet, the objective makes the way bearable, doable
B. Certainly, not all obedience is harsh, difficult
1. but it is obedience, submission ... requiring humility
2. so, think of Rom 6:17,18 the joy of freedom was via the constraints of obedience
3. or Heb 5:9 joy of salvation via obedience
III. THAT LOVE DOES NOT EXCLUDE OBEDIENCE
A. Jno 15:9,10 Father and Son loved each other
1. the loving Father had commandments
2. the loving Son kept (obeyed) those commandments
3. in obeying the Son dwelt in the Fathers love
B. Here is such an important, relevant lesson to learn
1. so many folks claim (and, I believe, sincerely) to love the Father ... but do not see how obedience is absolutely consistent with their love
2. perhaps an emotional, sentimental view of love tends to want to be heartfelt ... but not hear t obedient
3. loving God and obeying God are inseparable - 2 Cor 5:14,15
IV. THAT OBEDIENCE GLORIFIES GOD
A. Jno 17:4 How did He glorify the Father on earth?
1. answer: by finishing Gods work - obedience
2. it is even true of earthly parent-child relationship
3. the father is glorified by obedient behavior of his children
B. Just so, our obedience glorifies God
1. Ps 103:21 ... that do His pleasure ...
2. Jno 8:29 ... those things that please Him
3. Phil 2:12,13 ... to do of His good pleasure
4. the whole purpose of humanity is to bring God pleasure in obedience ... to glorify God!
V. THAT OBEDIENCE AND PERFECTION ARE A PROGRESSION
A. In obedience He was made perfect - whole
B. Note 1 Jno 2:5
1. this refers to our love for God
2. it is in obedience that our love for God reaches its maturity
CLOSE: Those things Jesus learned in obedience are the same things we must learn ... if Gods purpose for us, and in us, is to be accomplished. What he commands is of His love. Will we obey as the proper manifestation of our love?
Cecil A. Hutson
15 September 2002
You Must Hear the Gospel
Romans 10:17
You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
You Must Believe
Hebrews 11:6
You must believe and have faith in God because “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)
You Must Repent
Acts 3:19
You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)
You Must Confess
Romans 10:9
You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus “Lord of your life.” Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just “accept Jesus as your personal savior.” We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)
You Must Be Baptized
Acts 2:38
Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!
You Must Be Faithful Unto Death
Revelation 2:10
Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God’s grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God’s grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)