The Motivation for Christian Obedience (Part 1)

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Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

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No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the

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Apostle Paul said, But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

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In short, if you like smooth, watered -down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn't for you.

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By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes, as we're called by the divine trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her

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King. Here's our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth. Welcome to No Compromise Radio ministry.

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We're professionals. My name is Mike Abendroth, and since probably

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I was sick and then on vacation in California, it has been, what, June since you and I have sat down here,

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June 2020? Well, actually, the correct order is you were on vacation, then you got sick. Yeah, that's correct.

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I was going backwards. Like, you know how you can say, well, increasing or decreasing, you click on the little filter or something on the website.

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That's been a long time. A lot has happened in the last year, don't you think? Really? I hadn't noticed.

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I mean, it's just kind of been smooth sailing. Oh, but I think the Lord has been faithful throughout the entire time, right?

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Always. Whether we believed it or not, whether we thought it or not, we just look back now and see. That's a good way to read

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Providence, by the way, backwardly, not frontwardly. I mean, there've been a lot of difficult circumstances in the last seven, eight, nine months, but God has been faithful.

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So I went on vacation in late June, early July, something like that. Came home, got

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COVID, into the hospital I go, and then you took over. Tell me all the things now. I never asked you this question, but since it's live now and you have to be under the truth serum, what did you change that you knew

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I wasn't going to like, you'd been dying to change? The curtains.

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Well, it seems like it was a long time ago when I texted you, if I die, here's my last will and testament as a friend and co -laborer in Christ.

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He really did. I mean, I don't even like to read those because it was like, you know, do this, do that.

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And, you know, I think I was sitting in the front room with Janet, you know, when you were sending me those things and I'm like,

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I don't even remember if I actually said this, but I remember saying to Janet, I go, I know what I want to say, well,

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Mike, if you really want these things, don't die. Well, they, just to let the no co -listeners understand a little bit and kind of pull the veil back with the

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Gnostic teachings here that only we know until we reveal them, right? That's a divine mystery. Here's the mystery between Mike and Steve.

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Deuteronomy 29, 29a, you know, point one.

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Oh, that's funny. I think I said things like, I love you. Thanks for being a friend. And you are a better friend to me than I've been to you.

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Preach Christ. Don't fold on masks. I remember that part.

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Yes, right. No more masks and take care of Kim. Yes. I think that was it. Yeah. Okay. Well, and that's when I just thought, okay, he's really giving me his last will and testament and I'm not ready for this.

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Wow. Well, in spite of everything, whether I got certain medicines, didn't, whether I was pushed certain medicines that took them or didn't take them, it was not ordained for me to die yet.

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And I'm thankful for that. And, you know, one thing I really tried not to do was like on Saturdays when

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I was kind of fine tuning things, I just go, I can't think about Mike. On Sunday mornings,

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I'd go, I could pray for Mike, but then I have to stop thinking about Mike. That's a fine how do you do?

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Well, I mean, I just couldn't because I'm like, I can't, I can't, I mean, we're friends and I, I can't really function.

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If I'm thinking about you, I can't get up in front of the congregation and just go. I was just someplace praying for a friend and then just in the middle of the prayer and there were a lot of people there in the room,

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I just broke down. Just I couldn't stop crying out of nowhere. It just like it overtook me.

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And a lot of times, Steve, I think of scripture and then I think about God being close and we call eminent and he's a friend that sticks closer to a brother.

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It just drives me back to the incarnation. God knows about all these things and he especially knows because he sent his son to assume human nature and be like us, right?

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Yes. Sin accepted. Yes. That's Heidelberg, by the way. It has this big thing about what Jesus did, you know, born of a virgin, assumed, you know, took on human flesh, assumed human nature, et cetera, et cetera.

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And then it said, and like us in every way. And then it says, comma, sin accepted. I don't think you want to be tied to a confession or a catechism.

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Hey, there is no creed but Christ. Oh man, that's music to my fingernails or something.

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Steve, even before I knew much about creeds and confessions, I did say to guys sitting here in this study with a round table of discipleship men,

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I said, what would be better? Me in this Bible and you guys or me and this

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Bible, you guys and all these books, right? Thousands of books, thousands of different authors. Which one would you rather have and why?

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Well, you spoke better than you knew, you know, as they sometimes write.

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You know, it's interesting when reading these different commentaries in the gospel of John, or even in Acts, you know, they would say things like,

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Peter spoke better than he knew, you know, or that kind of thing. That's excellent.

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Yes. Steve, today on the show, the topic du jour is sanctification and the motivation for holy living.

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How's that sound? Sounds like a good one. Okay. I saw something on social media and it was by a pastor and he was speaking to a large group and he said a statement and it said, he said, the only way that salt and light goes from theme to testimony is if you give the

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Lord unreserved, unqualified surrender and submission.

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What do you make of that? Well, unreserved and unqualified, is that what he said?

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Yes. Submission. Surrender. So in other words, absolute surrender. Right. That's a good jam album, by the way.

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100 % surrender. I'm not really a big jam fan, but 100 % surrender, that kind of sounds like one,

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I mean, to me, that means 100 % obedience. I don't know. It sounds great, but I don't think

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I've ever met anybody who was sinless. I don't think,

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I mean, maybe somebody... You know, there's something that somebody could do is like put on a t -shirt that says,

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I'm sinless and I'd go, oh, okay, well, thank you. You know, now I know I've actually met somebody without sin because previously

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I hadn't had that experience. So it's a pleasure to meet you. Well, this person was preaching to Christians and he's desiring

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Christians to be godly. That'd be good, right? Yeah, that's excellent. And I think from Arminians to Calvinists, to marrow men to non marrow men, we all want holy living, right?

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We don't want unholy living. We don't want sinful living. We want righteous living. But to give unqualified statements like this, what if he were to say,

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Steve, I really hope you congregational listeners have a desire to be fully surrendered to God.

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And that's your desire to, in every area of your life, from sexual thoughts to pride, to service, to self -denial,

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I'd like you to be fully on board with the Lord Jesus and unconditionally surrendered. I'd like you...

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Is that a good desire? I think it's a great desire. And I think that is the desire that God implants in us, right?

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At the time of salvation, because the things that seem pleasurable to us, the sins that seem pleasurable to us are no longer pleasurable.

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They're no longer comfortable. They're no longer... All of a sudden, the things that we said, the things that we did, all these things that were just commonplace to us, now all of a sudden, it's like, ow, ooh,

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I don't want to say that. I don't want to think that. I don't want to look at that. I don't want to be that, right?

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It's something we don't really observe physically or any other kind of way, but all of a sudden, we just know.

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We know the things wrong. I mean, speaking for myself, it was like night and day.

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One day, I could say whatever I wanted, and the next day, I could hear those thoughts coming into my head, and I'm like,

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I can't say that. People are looking at me like waiting for me to, you know, and I can't say that.

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And we think about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and we're new creatures, and the Spirit of God is sanctifying us, and that's a desire of a

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Christian, right? Yes, absolutely. So, I mean, totally. But when somebody says, you need to be absolutely, you know,

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I surrender all, you know, kind of thing, can I? I could sing,

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I want to surrender all, I want to, right, except we just say W -A -N -N -A. The reason why we brought this up, dear listeners,

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Steve and I have both been to a bedside of a dear friend who's probably dying, and we wanted to go there to encourage him.

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Maybe we'll talk more about this person another time, but I've got this new philosophy, Steve, and tell me if I've got holes in it theologically.

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But what I say to someone on their deathbed, at least from my perspective, I think they might be dying, what

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I say to them on their deathbed, should I try to motivate them and encourage them and give them confidence on their deathbed, but then when they're not on their deathbed,

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I do something different? In other words, I think it should be the same. So what if I were to say to the person on the deathbed, you know what,

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I want you to be salt and light to these nurses, and the only way you're going to be salt and light and go from theme to testimony is if you give the

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Lord unreserved, unqualified surrender and submission. Yeah, no weakness, not even now, bro.

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I know. Would that be good news? It sounds like bad. I mean, if anything, you know, if my testimony is dependent on my perfection, well then my testimony is never going to be any good.

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How could we be elders even? We can't. No, I know. We can't be. You know, I mean, you said, you know, is it good, well,

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I – one passage that came to mind because I preached it like a legalist years ago.

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Well, we were all born that way. Ephesians 5, you know, therefore be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love with us.

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Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

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You know, he goes on talking about sexual immorality and then your language and different things. You know, these things should not have been named among us.

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You know, is that true? Yes. I think the question though is, you know, is perfection achievable?

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Not, is it kind of the standard because be perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

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That is the standard. The question is, can we meet that standard? And I think what the scripture tells us is no.

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Who is the perfect man? Is it Moses? Is it Abraham? Is it

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Noah? Is it – you know, you can go right down the list of all these men in the Old Testament and the answer is no, no, no, no, no.

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There is one man and that's the man Christ Jesus. Steve, as you were saying that,

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I thought of Berkhoff and his summary of Christian doctrine. You and I were talking about that before the show.

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Sanctification section. While sanctification affects every part of man, yet the spiritual development of believers remains imperfect in this life.

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They must contend with sin as long as they live. Their lives are characterized by a constant warfare between flesh and spirit, and even the best of them are still confessing sins.

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That's just reality. This is not said to make us want to go sin or to give us a cloak for sin, but we do believe that glorification, we will be perfect, but not a second before.

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And here's another way of framing this. Can we have victory over sin?

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Right? Is sinning winning? The answer is no, right?

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Yeah. I mean, it's not a license. There's no winning if you're sinning.

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It's not a license to sin, but to put this properly, how is our victory achieved?

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It's not by us, right? It's not by us. Okay, Steve, there it is.

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The missing element of Christian sanctification, I think, is Jesus. What about Jesus for help and sanctification?

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We always go back to the fault in our life, and that is, okay, are you salt and light?

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Are you praying enough? I didn't say to my friend, our friend on his deathbed, how's your prayer life?

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Are you praying enough? Brother, have you been reading the scriptures daily? You doing your devotions?

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When I was in the hospital for those days, at the beginning, it was okay. Then the sickness really took over.

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Steve, most of the time, my prayer was tears in my eyes. I had one word prayer, help. That's all

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I could do, help. And you think about how in James, the elders, when there's somebody spiritually very, very inept because, oh, the text says weak, the elders come, right?

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Because when they can't pray, we go pray for them and hold them up. Sometimes, don't you just want to say to them, though, no devos, no dessert?

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Yeah. Mike, you're in the hospital, and unless you have your devo today, we're not going to give any more oxygen or steroids or something.

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Gotta catch off. Yeah. So instead, and you can tell me what you said to our friend, but what I said to my friend, our friend,

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I didn't say anything like that. I said, you know, Jesus loves you. Jesus cares for you.

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You don't have to pay for any of your sins because Jesus did it. The Father out of love sent the Son, and He died for you, and God's faithful.

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Everything was about the Lord because that's the motivation for them, that person to say,

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I can trust Him. I will pray. Help me, Lord. I'm anxious. Please, I don't want to be anxious.

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That's what motivates Christian obedience is the Lord Jesus Himself. Why is that so missing in our preaching these days?

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Maybe not our preaching, but it used to be, at least in mine. I think too many preachers, you know, have as their objective.

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I mean, are there plenty of preachers who never talk about sin or anything else? Yes. But I think there are also some preachers who just want to beat down the congregation, you know, who want to make sure that they know what they inherently know.

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Hey, people, you fall short. So let me point out all the ways you fall short. Honestly, I mean, maybe some people need that.

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For me, I pretty much know that I'm a daily failure. I'm a daily sinner.

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I know these things. But you asked what I, you know, or you asked what

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I said to our friend. And, you know, I start off with a summary, basically, of 1

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Corinthians 15. And I said, you know, the good news is that Jesus died for our sins.

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And the evidence of that is that He's not in the grave. You know, Paul says, if He is, then we're of all men most miserable, right?

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But the good news is He's not. And the only religion in the world that has as its leader,

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I think it's fair to call Jesus the leader of Christianity, who was raised from the dead is

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Jesus Christ Himself. And, you know, it's kind of, it's one of the things that separates

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Christianity from every other religion. But then I closed with, I closed with prayer, but I also read part of John 10 about Jesus laying down His life for the sheep.

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And because I just, and I wanted to stress over and over again to our friend, the surety is

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Jesus Christ. The way that we know that we will inherit eternal life is not by our works, but by His work.

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Steve, when you were talking, it made me think of the law is written on our heart. Of course, we need the law now as Christians to lead us and guide us.

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I'm not an antinomian. I know why we want to walk worthily in placing the Lord Colossians 1. But the law, we know.

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But what we don't know intuitively, and that's why we need it preached every Sunday with word, and of course, the

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Lord's table and baptism is good news about Jesus. That's right. That it's just not written on your heart.

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Oh, John 10, here's this great shepherd, and he's not going to lose one, and he's going to lay down his life, and he loves sinners.

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We know that from Revelation and Revelation only. That's why we need to be good news preachers.

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How could we, Steve, say to somebody on their deathbed, oh, death, where is your victory?

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Oh, death, where is your sting? Kind of this taunting thing. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through your prayer life and through your devotions and through your lack of worry and through your unqualified surrender and submission.

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That's not what the text says. We would all be dust. Victory through our

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Lord Jesus Christ. I can remember being in school and just thinking the best messages were the ones that made me feel the worst.

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And I'm like, that was really backwards, right? I mean, correct thinking are those messages that make me look at Christ and think,

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I can never be worthy of that. And the good news is, I don't have to be worthy of that.

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Right, right. So if we hear a sermon on James 5 about complaining, and then we become convicted, out of all people, we've studied, people have invested in our lives, and we have teachers and seminary professors, and we know about God's providence and how

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He controls things and even the weather and how we shouldn't be complaining at all. We feel so bad about our complaining.

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That's good so far, but that can't be the end. Then we need to keep moving on about how the

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Lord can even forgive our sins of complaining. Right, spitting in His face, saying, your providence isn't good to me today.

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And He still loves us and cares for us because He's our Father, and He sent His Son to die for us.

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What if we turn this around, Steve? The sermon.

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And it says something about the Lord Jesus and how

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He is the one who gave unqualified surrender and submission, unreservedly, to the

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Father, and you can rest in Him. I mean, even when He was treated unjustly, what did He do? Did He complain?

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Maybe it was like 80 % submission. Maybe Jesus didn't quite unreservedly, just maybe a little reservation.

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Father with reservation. I mean, He and only

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He, having no sin nature, having never sinned personally, and I was talking about this before we went on the air, filled with the

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Holy Spirit, able to resist even the most extreme temptations, temptations that nobody else obviously could withstand because even

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Adam fell, right? I mean, Adam had no sin nature. Adam had...

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There was no reason for Adam to disbelieve God, and yet he did.

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He fell like a sack of potatoes. I mean, he just went down. Steve, your dad, my dad might be similar in their respect of kind of army kind of people.

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My dad didn't go into the... Navy, baby. He was in the Navy. Military. Yeah, yeah. My dad was Army. Your dad was

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Navy. At least this regimented... I guess there's probably a lot of law in the military.

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Rightfully so, right? And I mean, sometimes my dad would give me so many rules and so many laws to do, and then

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I never really measured up. When I knew I couldn't measure up to all his laws, what was my response? I'm like, whatever.

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Give up. Give up. I know. Well, like Bart Simpson, can't win, don't try. Okay. I've never seen that, but that's exactly right.

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What are we doing with our folks with this? There's that Spurgeon quote that's so motivating to me.

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When I thought God was hard, I found it easy to sin. But when I found God so kind, so good, so overflowing with compassion,

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I smote upon my breast to think that I could ever have rebelled against one who loved me so and sought my good.

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It's almost like you're talking about gratitude. I don't know. It feels like... But I tell you the other day,

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I was talking to my daughter, Gracie, and we were talking guilt, grace, gratitude paradigm. And she said, well, there's lots of sermons she's heard in her life are guilt, grace, and grind.

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Yeah. Yeah. Because it's like, well, you just have to work this out.

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You've gotta do more. There's more tasks in front of you. There's more reading. There's more writing.

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There's more arithmetic. There's more whatever. It's all on you. Too bad schools don't teach those hours anymore.

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St. Clair Ferguson, when we behold the glory of Christ in the gospel, it reorders the loves of our hearts.

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So we delight in him supremely, and other things that have ruled our lives lose their enslaving power over us.

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How is it that these men that we respect, many people listen to, understand this, and yet we fall prey to just another make -me -feel -bad sermon and question -my -salvation sermon?

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I don't know. But I think there's something in us that wants that self -flagellation.

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And I think it's—or, you know, the pulpit flagellation, I guess. And I think it's because we know that we're not worthy.

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And so we want to have that message reinforced, right? And it would be okay if we were pointed back again to the worthy one.

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Right. Nope. Right. So when Luther said, hey, every time you say, Satan, I'm a sinner, I say, yes, I am.

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And that reminds me of the savior of my sins. Well, that would be right. But I think the goal of some preachers is just to see if they can get everybody out of the church without opening the doors.

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You know, they could just go right under the door. When people say to me, man, that guy's a really good preacher, and he preaches,

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I mean, I don't even know if I'm a Christian after listening to that guy. I'm thinking, no, no, no, no, no.

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Why is that guy popular? Because he plays to the legal tincture that's in all of us. Right. Well, I think if you listen to him—let's put it this way.

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If you can listen to a gospel message and think, I don't even know if I'm a Christian, well, okay, maybe you're not.

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Okay, that's wise. But if you listen to an all -law message and you have no sin -bearing, law -breaking relief, then that might be true.

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Yeah. I mean, if somebody gives you law and you leave going, I don't know if I'm saved or not. Well, I don't know.

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What's the message about salvation, right? If the message is about guilt and you feel guilty, why?

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Mission accomplished. Steve, in the morning I have my Bible reading. I usually read Ephesians since I'm in Ephesians now.

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I read something from the Old Testament. And as I'm getting dressed, I usually listen to a gospel in the background on the iPhone because I just need to be reminded about who

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Jesus is. Well, that's right. I keep pointing people back to John because people need to know who he is.

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He's not just the God, but he's also a man who is very loving and kind.