1 Corinthians 01-18-10

No Compromise Radio. Thanks for tuning in to No Compromise Radio with pastor and author, Dr. Mike Abendroth. Today on No Compromise Radio, we'll be hearing Pastor Mike open the Word of God in a recent message he preached at Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Massachusetts.

Now let's join Pastor Mike in progress as he preaches through the scriptures, verse by verse, with No Compromise.

Sanctification Begins with Identity in Christ

We are sanctified definitively in Christ Jesus. When God saves us, we are called sanctified. We are enabled to live the new life, the Christian life. We are new creatures in Christ. And I'll say it once again, I think the problem with life is we have a to-do list in the morning and we forget about who we are in Christ Jesus.

The resources we have, the Spirit of God who dwells within us, the power we have now because of Christ to say no to sin and yes to righteousness. Do you know what we do? We forget to preach the gospel to ourselves every day.

Jerry Bridges says that's a good thing. And Paul doesn't do it like the other letters because he's been there for 18 months. He knows that when he says in chapter 1, verse 2 of 1 Corinthians, you are sanctified, what floods through their mind?

Can you imagine having Paul at your church for 18 months teaching you? I mean, our church is revolutionized by Steve Lawson coming in for five messages and preaching. 18 months the Apostle Paul, and you think when he said to them, you're sanctified, they all thought, I wonder what that means.

No, they knew it. You're set apart by nature, by calling, by God's design. You are not paper plates anymore for just normal everyday things. You are set aside, you're like China set apart for special uses for God's use.

They knew all that. One of the best things you could do if you say, I want to be a better spouse, then you need to know who you are in Christ Jesus. And then what does he do? He doesn't just call them sanctified positionally that they're holy in Christ.

He says something else called saints. They're called saints. He's trying to instruct them to be holy. Remember that you're called holy. That's his point. It's not you're going to be a saint when 800 years after you died, they dig you up and declare you.

You're now a saint friends. As my pastor always used to say, my original pastor, pre John MacArthur, you're either a saint or you're an ain't you're either a saint or sinner. And now by nature, by declaration, we are saints.

And Paul says, then Corinth live up to your calling. Live up to your name. Act like an Abendroth. Act like a Christian. You call yourself a Christian live in a what? Christlike manner. Oh no, I got to get to the do list.

I got to get to the, to the yes list. If your life is wrong side up and you're really good worker and you have a lot of sweat and toil and labor and you love the checklist, but things still aren't right.

Well, there could be lots of explanations, but could one possibly be? You've forgotten who you are in Christ Jesus. Show me one epistle in the new Testament that says, you know what? Just get on going to work.

Why did they start with all this doctrine? You know, the reason live up to your name, of course, by the spirit's power, but you have a name live up to it. You are holy, therefore act holy. One man said it constrains a man to live unto the Lord from a deep sense of gratitude for redemption.

It makes him feel that he can never do too much for him that died for him. If you're a Christian, Jesus died for you. Should you be begged by the elders to serve? Should you not on the flip side say, I will beg anybody so that I may serve.

It's that kind of thinking. We are moralists if we're not careful because we were saved out of moralism. We just want to do more, do it harder, try harder, and we're in debt to God, and therefore we just kind of really need to work things out.

Paul says, you need to think who you are before you do anything. I think some of you have heard me use this illustration before, so let me now ask you to think along the same lines. What's the most important part of the Ten Commandments?

They're taking down Ten Commandments out of the courts now, and they're taking them out of the schools, and they're the Ten Commandments. When you look at the Ten Commandments, what's the most important part of the Ten Commandments?

Commandment 1, Commandment 10. What's the most important part of the Ten Commandments? And if you don't get it, you don't get 1 Corinthians. And if you don't get it, you don't get sanctification. If you don't get it, you're stuck in the how-to's instead of the who's.

Instead of the what's. Instead of the why's. Well, let's turn there. Keep your finger on 1 Corinthians. Just to show you this is the paradigm. The paradigm in Christianity is not do things, God loves you more.

The paradigm is God loves you, and He's shown you that at Calvary, therefore respond in light of that. That is sanctification. Of course you're responsible. Of course you use Scripture as a means. Of course you use prayer.

Of course you want to make sure you do that, but you don't come close to sanctification unless you understand who God is and in light of who He is and what He's done for you personally, you won't get it.

And you say, Pastor, I already understand this. You've been preaching this for 13 years. Hallelujah. Teach it to other people. But there are some people sitting here today that don't know it. Some people listening on the radio that don't know it.

And I bet you if you looked at your life like I've looked at mine this week, we know it intellectually but we don't do what we know, right? So it's a good reminder. Too often we remember what we're supposed to forget and forget what we're supposed to remember.

So that's my job to remind you. Exodus chapter 20. You can find the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5 and Exodus 20. What's the most important part of the Ten Commandments? It's not found in verse 3. You shall have no other gods before me.

Is that a good commandment? Is that the top of the list commandment? Do we want to make sure we do that in our lives? Of course. But that's not the most important part of the Ten Commandments. If you just wake up in the morning and say, I'm Israel or I'm a church today and I'm under this law or however you want to work it, any command in the Bible, I just need to do this.

Friends, let's even make it, let's push the envelope a little bit. I know I never do it, but indulge me today. If the top of your list is get up in the morning and read the Bible, I've got to read the Bible today.

You know, they used to teach at Word of Life, no devos, no breakfast. I was like, what is a devo? I'm in some kind of band in the seventies, but no devos, no breakfast. What is that? No devotions, no breakfast.

Is it good to read the Bible? Is it good to have no gods before you? Is it good to have no division in the church, Corinthians? Of course. But it's good when it comes from not just a list, but when we understand who the one is who's made the list and what he's done for us, then the list becomes joyful.

The list becomes logical. And so what's the most important part of the Ten Commandments? It's not number one. If you're a Sabbatarian, it's not number four. It's not any of those. It's what? Where is the how-to list found?

Verses three and following. Where's the who? Where's what has God done for us? In light of what God has done, we'd love to do that. In light of your love for me, dad, your prayers for me, mom, all the protection that you've given us, all that stuff.

In light of what you've done for me, I think you're right. I probably should share more of my toys. Somebody laughed. I guess that hit home. The Ebendroth kids. Toys. We don't give our kids toys. You make your own toys if you want a toy.

You got to stick in a rock and some sand. Be creative. The most important part of the Ten Commandments. You're like, it's killing me. What is it? You know the answer. It's not the how-to's. It's the who.

Verse one and verse two. Then God spoke all these words saying. Not a how-to found in verse two. There's not a how-to found in verse three. I am Yahweh, your personal covenant-keeping God. This is my name, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

I said there's not a how-to in verse three, I meant verse two. What's the paradigm for sanctification for the Christian? Answer, here's who God is, therefore I respond in light of who he is. When your sanctification is messed up, I believe you work backwards and say to yourself, I become a moralist, I become a legalist, I've become a person who just has a bunch of rules and I forget that I'm a saint by calling and God has called me sanctified.

Most important part of the Ten Commandments has nothing to do with the Ten Commandments. I still like them up in courthouses, but I wish we had that umbrella statement. That umbrella statement that said, this is the author of this treaty.

This is what I've done for you and this is what I expect in response. That's why, mark this well, in Christianity and in Old Testament Judaism, revelation response was always the paradigm. You want to understand what we do here even on Sunday morning?

There's revelation from God, why do we sing a hymn at the end of the service? Some people say, well, we don't want to sing at the end of the service because when the sermon's done, we should just have a say-la moment and just stop and let that sink in.

We'll walk out of the church quietly, we'll contemplate what's going on. It's good, there's nothing wrong with that, except I believe this is the divine paradigm. There's revelation from God, from the scriptures, here's the sermon and what does the heart want to do when you hear from God?

What does the heart want to do when you look outside and see natural revelation? Wow, there's a response. God reveals himself in nature or through the word, we respond. We get done preaching a sermon, what should we feel like doing?

I got to say something to somebody, hallelujah, praise the Lord, let me sing, let us corporately sing. So there's revelation from God, I took you out of Egypt, okay, then I respond with the how-tos. Christians struggle with sanctification because they forget who they are in Christ Jesus.

The most important part of the Ten Commandments, the most important part of sanctification is what God has done and who he is. Let's turn to chapter 12 of Romans, just for a moment, I'm going to just talk about this a little bit more, we're obviously in no rush.

The Mercies of God in Romans 12:1

Romans chapter 12, this is very, very important. Friends, when you counsel someone, when you disciple someone, can you give them a list of things to do? Obviously, but you need to remind them who they are in Christ.

It's a lot easier, I think, to maybe just do some things, but doing them for no reason doesn't help us. Theology comes before methodology, true or false? The answer is true. Romans, I mean, let's talk about chapter 1 through 11.

Why bother? We don't really need all that stuff anyway, there's some larger words there, some polysyllabic words, there's some of these verses that are kind of hard to understand. Chapter 3 with discipleship, we were looking at this with the men today, some saved through grace, some saved by grace, there's all these nuances.

I mean, I just want to do some stuff. I want to do, I want to list, I want to cry about it. Why chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11? Now Paul didn't spend 18 months in Romans, so now he has to tell them, 1 through 11 in Romans, before you hardly do anything, here's the way you think.

It's after, it balls after your mind. He was at Corinth for 18 months, so he can just say a word, saint, they know. Church of Rome, they need this all detailed out, and so 11 chapters before they're basically having to do anything, oh, there's an imperative here or there.

But here's what happens, Romans chapter 12 verse 1. Why 1 through 11? Here's the hinge, and you know this, I've taught you this, but it's good to be reminded. I was glad to be reminded in my study the last week.

Paul says in Romans chapter 12, therefore, therefore, it's one of the three great therefores in the book of Romans, therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Therefore, after all God has done for you, how must I now live? John McKay, who was the president of Princeton Seminary when it was good, said, commitment without reflection is fanaticism in action. Commitment without reflection is fanaticism in action.

This is the whole Mary Martha deal. Somebody's running around doing all kinds of serving when they should have been sitting at Jesus' feet and then served. Heidelberg Catechism question, how many things are necessary for you to know that you in this comfort may live and die happily?

Three, one, how great my sins and miseries are. Two, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery. You want to know how you summarize life? I was a great sinner. I have a great deliverer. And what do you think the third component of Heidelberg Catechism's response would be?

Third component, how I am to be thankful to God for such deliverance. How am I to be thankful to God for such deliverance? Paul says this, when you look at chapter 12, verse 1, by the mercies of God, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God.

By the way, he didn't say I command you. Just with logic, just with thinking, Paul says this, close your eyes and recall the mercies of God. Mercies of God is a summary for chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11.

Just close your eyes and rehearse, if you will, chapter 1 about your sin and chapter 2 about how you can't be moral enough for God. In chapter 3, everybody falls short. Later in chapter 3, how God has declared you righteous based on the work of another.

He gave His Son as an offering for you. He poured out His wrath on Jesus, raised Him from the dead. Here in chapter 4 is this example of Abraham. Chapter 5, you have access to God and you go through the entire list and you just think and think and think and think and think and then you go, now it's time to do.

I've got the right motive. I've got the right encouragement. I've got the right action. And I'm not just going to be some kind of moralist or legalist. By the mercies of God, chapters 1 through 11, think about those, He says.

When you think about that, your dedication goes up. Look what the text says, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice. Friends, it is way easier to give time than give yourself. It's way easier to write a check than to give you.

Charity for others is easy compared to saying, what I want from you is you. Jesus didn't die for your money. He didn't die for your time. He didn't die for your possessions. He didn't die for your relationship skills.

He died for you. And He wants you, all of you. And you think, well, the way this is set up, Mike, it sounds like this is more than Christianity is a Sunday only deal. It is. And if you think you're going to come and throw some bone to God on Sunday for an hour and a half.

By the way, I'm glad you're here. If you're one of those people, I'm glad you're at least here. But if you think that is the right response to the revelation found in Romans chapter 1 through 11, then you need to go back to chapter 1 and redo Romans 1 to 11, right?

Our action should tell us when things are wrong, something's broken. Something's broken. The way I'm thinking about things, I only serve at the church nursery because I have to. Nobody else will do it.

So I get stuck back there every week. Friends, we may have things like that going on that need to be fixed. But my solution to the nursery worker who is grumpy and complaining and all that is to back up and say, is there anything you wouldn't do with joy for the Lord who saves you and you deserve to be cast into hell yesterday?

And now He's rescued you. He's called you His child. He's adopted you. He's sanctifying you. You're a saint. You're His child. Is there anything you wouldn't do with the right attitude? Paul said, God wants you.

As Jesus' parents presented Him to the Lord in the temple, He says, present yourself. This is marriage language. How many people here are married? Quite a few, okay. Most people here, I guess we don't need to raise our hands.

You've seen marriages. Will you take this man to have and to hold from this day forward for better or worse till death do you part? Or something like that. And then the woman, then the man when he's addressed, he says what?

She says what? Sunday morning's for an hour and a half if he's lucky. Till things get really bad, till we got a sick child or maybe have to bury a child. Or till I'm not getting my needs met and you don't make me happy.

Friends, you stand in front of God, in front of all these people, and you say for better or for worse till death do us part as God is my witness. That's exactly what we expect. That's exactly what God expects.

This is marriage language. Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice. God, you've saved me, you've rescued me. I don't deserve any of this. I've got all kinds of problems in my life, but this is a problem I don't have, paying for my own sins when I die.

And regarding that, I stand before you and I say in light of chapter 1 through 11, I do. And if you say that, no matter what comes down the line for how-tos, you will gladly accept. It might not always be fun, it might not always be exciting, but you will say, I'm a man under authority, I'm a woman under authority.

This great authority, a benevolent authority, the loving authority, God Himself. And if we can obey masters, if we can obey sergeants, if we can obey husbands, then here comes this message from God. He wants you.

So you can just hear this echo when Paul says to Corinth, you are saints by calling. You stood before God and said, I do. Live out who you are, he says. We live in a world that loves to say, promote self.

Look at the text in Romans 12 again. Your bodies a living and holy what? Sacrifice, a living and holy indulgence. You just get to indulge yourself. Do what you want, when you want. By the way, you've got forgiveness of sins.

You're not going to hell, so live as you please. Forget this lordship stuff, you're in. He wants you to present your bodies a living and holy indulgence. You indulge yourself. That's the world speaking.

Where are the days when Jesus would say, deny self, die to self, sacrifice. And by the way, what does the text say? Is this illogical? Is this not, you know, somehow pertinent? No. What does the text say?

Which is your spiritual? Or you know what another translation is? Logical. You know what another translation is? Reasonable. This isn't irrational. This isn't loony. This isn't howling at the moon. This is, God did this for me.

I'm a saint by calling. I've been set apart. Dishes for the master's use, as it were. This is sin, salvation. Oh, I should serve. This is guilt, grace. I should have gratitude. This is Jim Elliot saying, before he was martyred.

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. And if your response has not been, God, with wholehearted dedication, I commit my life to serve you. In light of what you've done, in light of what your Savior has done, this would be a good time to do it.

This would be a good time to do it. And the world won't help you do this. Look at verse 2. Do not be conformed to this world. The world wants to sell the opposite. The world's not going to help you make this kind of dedicated decision.

It's going to take your mind to be transformed by the word, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. The world tries to conform you into this.

You just throw religion out. You just be spiritual a little bit. You're just good to go on Sundays. And God says, that's not the way I think. I want it all. Did you know with Christianity, it is all or nothing?

There's no halfway Christians. You know, sometimes these seeker-sensitive churches, I've even been criticized before. Don't call them unbelievers. Call them pre-Christians. Well, I guess I just throw my lot in with Paul or Jesus when I call them unbelievers.

If you prefer other biblical language like liars and thieves and hypocrites and swindlers, I guess I could use those as well too, but I'm just trying to say they don't believe. God requires faith. They don't believe.

I could say they're ungodly. Godliness imitates God. Ungodliness doesn't imitate God. A liberal theologian said it, but he knew what he was talking about. When God has done this for you, there should be something that happens in your life called the great disturbance.

The power of God through the Spirit of God quickening you, saving you, regenerating you, calling you holy will change your life. You will not be able to walk the same way with the same people with the same thoughts.

You will be different, and if you're not different, then there's been no great disturbance. You're not a Christian. The missing link in Christian sanctification is who I am comes before what I am to do.

So for Paul with the church of Corinth, he didn't need to say Romans chapter 1 through 11 first. He dove in in chapter 1 and said, here's who I am. I've got apostolic authority. Here's who you are. I've taught you that.

I've been here 18 months. I'm not too far away. Live up to who you are. Be who you are. If he would have known Isaac Watts, he could have said with him, with the song, when I survey the wondrous cross, love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

And that's exactly what Corinth wasn't doing. So Paul's prescription for sanctification was remember who you are, then we'll get to the list, and it's no different for you. Let's pray. Father, I thank you today that truth matters, that theology affects methodology, that we have a foundation for what we do, and we're just not running around trying to appease some God we don't know or hasn't made himself known.

You've told us. Lord, I rejoice that even though we are sinful people, even still short of glory, you call us saints. You call us your children. You call us set apart for special uses, and I pray for Bethlehem Bible Church.

I pray for all those that would listen on the radio or on the Internet and podcasting. Lord, would you just do a work. Would you just do a work in our hearts, and if it messes up our happiness before we get to the holiness, Lord, just do whatever.

We would like to be crisp and clean and pure, and we would like to live up to our name, holy ones. In Jesus' name, amen.

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible-teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life-transforming power of God's Word through verse-by-verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

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